150- 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
support, buttresses were huge, but in contrast to the
external flying versions of High Gothic, Catalonian
buttresses were often incorporated into side chapels
inside the building. In Barcelona’s cathedral, begun in
1298, the taste for small windows and yawning interiors
conspire in the forbidding gloom, while the nearby
Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar is offered up as the
crystallised vision of simple Catalan Gothic. Other
regions were more eclectic. In Aragón, Gothic and
Mudéjar styles often mingled, bringing geometric tiles
and a dome to the older, Romanesque structure of
Zaragoza’s La Seo cathedral and a high, square tower
of brick to Tarragona’s. Further south, in Seville, the
Islamic influence was even greater – the largest
cathedral in Christendom, begun in 1401, has the
Gothic regulars of rose windows and double buttresses
but with a Moorishly flat roof and soaring 12thcentury
minaret incorporated.Isabelline: Gothic’s dramatic final act
To w a r d t h e e n d o f i t s r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h G o t h i c , i n t h e
late 15thcentury Spain pursued a brief, bombastic take
on the movement. Isabelline Gothic, named after one
half of the Reyes Católicos, mixed the elaborate late
Gothic styles of France and England with Moorish
design but also cast an eye toward the Renaissance
that was heading Spain’s way. The use of squashed,
‘basket handled’ arches and fussy, decorated facades
was typical. Isabelline Gothic reached a peak in the
Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes, Toledo. Built as a
tomb for Isabel and Fernando by French architect Juan
Guas, the outside is a triumph of carved stone, much of
it making reference to the Catholic monarchs. Isabelline
Gothic was short lived; Isabel herself soon encouraged
a more Renaissance-led style of architecture.A last hurrah
Pure Gothic architecture
enjoyed a final Spanish
flourish in the early
16 thcentury. As the
Renaissance began to
make its presence felt,
a mild backlash created
cathedrals in Segovia
and Salamanca,
depositing buildings
that hoped to follow
an undiluted Gothic
blueprint.There were once more
than 10,000 castles in
Spain. Around 2,500
remain today, in varying
states of health.v4 SPAIN BOOK 27/3/08 09:49 Page 150