Seville: an historical and descriptive account of "the pearl of Andalusia"Calvert, Albert Frederick
History
Seville: an historical and descriptive account of "the pearl of Andalusia"
Calvert, Albert Frederick
Art -- Spain -- Seville; Painters -- Spain; Seville (Spain) -- Description and travel
The Palacio de las Dueñas, more properly the Palace of the Dukes of
Alba, and sometimes called Palacio de las Pinedas, is a vast and once
splendid mansion, partaking of the mixed style of the two buildings
last described. It boasted at one time eleven _patios_, with nine
fountains, and over one hundred marble columns. A fine _patio_ remains,
surrounded by a gallery with graceful columns. The staircase, with its
vaulted roof, recalls that of the Casa de Pilatos. In the lower part is
a chapel of the fifteenth century, which has fared very badly at the
hands of restorers or rather demolishers. This palace was for a time
the residence of Lord Holland, an ardent admirer of Spanish literature,
and the author (1805) of a memoir on Lope de Vega and Guillen de
Castro.
Other notable residences of the nobility in Seville are the Casa de
Bustos Tavera, and the Palaces of the Dukes of Osuna and Palomares and
the Count of Peñaflor. These all date from what may be loosely called
Mudejar times.
The Church of the University of Seville is of interest. The university
itself was originally a college of the Society of Jesus, and was built
in the middle of the sixteenth century, after designs ascribed to
Herrera. Madrazo thinks it more likely that these were the work of
the Jesuit Bartolomé de Bustamante. The church forms a Latin cross, a
spacious half-orange dome covering the transept. The Renaissance style
is followed. Here repose the members of the illustrious Ribera family,
their remains having been transported hither on the suppression of the
Cartuja (Carthusian Monastery). The oldest of the tombs is also that
of the oldest Ribera, who died in 1423, aged 105 years. The finest is
that of Doña Catalina (died 1505), the work of a Genoese sculptor.
Other tombs are those of Don Pedro Henriquez, Diego Gomez de Ribera,
Don Perafan de Ribera (1455), and Beatriz Portocarrero (1458). Let into
the pavement is a magnificent bronze slab, to the memory of the Duque
de Alcalá, the owner of the Casa de Pilatos. Among the sepulchres are
those of the founder, Lorenzo Suarez de Figueroa, whose favourite dog
is sculptured at his feet, and Benito Arias Montano, a _savant_ who
died in 1598. Over the altar are three paintings: the “Holy Family,”
the “Adoration of the Magi,” and the “Nativity”; the first by Roelas,
the other two by his pupil, Juan de Varela. These, especially the
first, are among the finest pictures in the city. The statue of St
Ignatius Loyola by Montañez, coloured by Pacheco, is probably the only
faithful likeness of the Saint. In this church are also to be seen two
admirable works of Alonso Cano, “St John the Baptist” and “St John the
Divine.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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