The Story of SevilleGallichan, Walter M. (Walter Matthew)
History
The Story of Seville
Gallichan, Walter M. (Walter Matthew)
Seville (Spain)
It is said that one day, when this had occurred, he rushed into the
kitchen, and insisted upon the serving-maid becoming his attendant; and
amidst oaths and blows, he forced the trembling girl to prepare a canvas
for the composition he desired to execute. His turbulent spirit led him
into difficulties, and he was accused--whether falsely or not it is now
impossible to say--of coining money. To escape punishment he sought
sanctuary in the College of the Jesuits, where he painted the Legend of
St. Hermingild, now in the Museo. In the year 1624 Philip III. came to
Seville, and visited the college. In common with all the house of
Austria, the King had a fine appreciation of art, and when he saw the
work of Herrera, he at once recognised its merits, and desired to see
the artist. Herrera knelt at the King's feet, and told the reason of his
confinement in the convent. 'What need of silver and gold has a man
gifted with a talent like yours? Go, you are free,' was the answer of
the King.
Such was the nature of the man, whose cogent individuality
re-established a national Spanish style. His pictures are distinguished
for their vigorous force. Sir W. Stirling-Maxwell calls him 'the most
remarkable of the painters, who learnt their art solely in Andalusia';
while Palomino, often termed the Spanish Vasari, says that the boldness
of his manner conveys to his figures the appearance of being painted in
relief. Several of his pictures are now in the Museo; the Cathedral
possesses none, but there is one in the Church of San Bernardo, which,
in spite of dirt and dim lighting, affords a fine instance of the power
of Herrera. In the upper portion the Lord is shown with a band of
attendant angels, while below St. Michael divides the sinful from the
righteous. The canvas is overcrowded; a fault in which the majority of
the compositions of Herrera share, and the form of St. Michael is
somewhat uncouth, but the picture is full of power, and many of the
figures, especially among the hosts of the wicked, are drawn with a fine
freedom of handling.
Francisco de Zurbaran, a peasant, born in Estremadura, in the year 1598,
was the veritable follower of Herrera. His work more fully than that of
any other artist typifies the genius of Spain. Lord Leighton speaks of
him 'as a man of powerful personality, in whom more than any of his
contemporaries, the various essential characteristics of his race were
gathered up--its defiant temper, its dramatic bent, its indifference to
beauty, its love of fact, its imaginative force, its gloomy fervour, its
poetry, in fact, and its prose.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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