Iberia, the style betrays a strong Hellenic influence and
the artist may well have been Greek.
The Celtiberians lacked such sophistication yet still let
their creative juices flow over an impressive array of
ornamented jewellery and decorated ceramics. As for
the Romans, their fondness for interior design was writ
large in mosaics, frescos and statuary, little of which
from Spain actually survives.
Mozarabic and pre-Romanesque: the first Spanish art?
Spanish art historians no doubt while away the evenings
trying to figure out when the first authentically Spanish
art was made. Some suggest it was under
the Moors. Undoubtedly, the Moorish talent for culture
rubbed off on the natives during their lengthy stay.
Mozarabic art, as work by Christians who adopted
the Muslim way of life is known, has strong Moorish
overtones with its rounded arch shapes and rich
colours.The style only survives in a handful of
illuminated manuscripts like the lavishly illustrated
10 thcenturyBiblia Sacra Hispalense. Others claim that
the first truly Spanish art comes from Asturias, the
only region to repel the Moors, where the eighth to
tenth centuries brought a burst of church building and
decoration. Some call the frescos and altar paintings
of Asturian art pre-Romanesque, others are bolder,
claiming that here was the fledgling Romanesque
movement itself; a style that would conquer much
of northern Europe as the second millennium got
underway (see section 3.2.2. for more on Asturian
architecture).The squat brick-heavy window-shy
churches of the period concealed interiors jam-packed
with colourful murals, gold ornamentation and
illuminated manuscripts. Most of the good stuff is no
longer in situ, relocated instead to Spain’s museums.
111
- Identity: the
building blocks of
2. Literature
and philosophy
3. Art and
architecture
4. Performing
arts
5. Cinema
and fashion
6. Media and
communications
7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
the details of
Prehistoric bulls
On a hillside in the Ávila
province, not far from
Madrid, graze the Bulls
of Guisando, a small herd
of taurine-shaped stones
carved by Celtiberian
artists during the second
century BC. Just don’t
spoil the Spanishness by
suggesting that they
actually look like pigs.
Returning heroine
La Dama de Elchewas
sold to the Louvre in
the same year it was
discovered,1897, but
found its way back to
Spain during the Second
World War.
Who’s hue of Roman art
The urbanity of upper
crust Roman life in
Hispania comes through
in the sophistication
of its artwork, and in
particular the colours
used. Calcite, aragonite,
haematite, caput
mortuum, cinnabar,
limonite, goethite,
cuprorivaite, lazurite,
terre verte, carbon and
verdigris were all found
in fragments of wall
painting from a Roman
site in Burgos.
