Route of Catalan art in the 18th century

Reconstructions

After the War of Succession, as happens in all wars, the territory must be rebuilt.

In Catalonia, this reconstruction is made ??from a new stylistic models that allowed renew not only the city of Barcelona , but also other places in Catalonia.

Obviously, these artistic influences would remain in the country for some time.

The artistic traits that left more traces in the Catalan art of the eighteenth century were the Rococo, Neoclassicism and French academicism. All of them, however, were adopted and acquiring Catalan personality that has given to works which are and which are find where they are.

The military influence

Given the historical context that the country experienced, expected that more people trained in the art, especially conceived as a functional element, would be those military engineers Bourbon that would order the different spaces, especially the city of Barcelona .

. The characteristic of this influence element included the construction of the Citadel From the initial construction of this set 3 baroque buildings are preserved:

The Arsenal: the current Parliament of Catalonia, which was expanded by two lateral bodies, among others.

The Chapel: it continues to maintain its military significance.

The Governor's Palace: that is currently used as high school.

The three buildings maintain the reddish hue of its construction and rectangular shapes that give the windows, structure and ornamental elements. All of them can be considered part of the same architectural complex, not only because of where they are located, but also the style and the materials used.

Crosshatched façades

As for the decorations of the facades of religious buildings or civil use, showed an architectural innovation: the sgraffito.

This technique consists of making incisions on the surface of a wall, in this case, for hinting the material in the lower part thereof and typically different color.

The sgraffito we found this on the facade of the church of San Martí de Sant Celoni . All were made ??in 1762 and are considered the biggest graffiti in Europe. Its theme is dedicated to the virtues of faith, hope, charity and justice. Their shapes are figures of angels, saints and other silhouettes having as a white tone predominant color in figures and a raw tone on the bottom of the wall.

As for the civil sculpture, amid the Rambla de Barcelona found the building or house Sailboats Guild of Silk. This building can go unnoticed if not raise his head, but once you know it is there, one when passing it is always fixed.

The tones of the facade are reddish, as are the buildings of the Citadel. The clear figures stand in columns and plant ornamentation, but the most notable elements are all human figures that are located on the first floor and seem to support decorative columns that are in the higher floors. The sgraffito is so great that almost no space unadorned, just enough to see the contrast of colors.

There are other facades also use this technique of sgraffito and in which are represented scenes from everyday life or field.

We should add that the art of sgraffito not tiptoes through the Catalan art is that during the novecentismo is one of the usual techniques with which you work.

Baroque sculpture

Although in the field of sculpture, Baroque was one of the predominant styles in Catalonia in the eighteenth century did not take long to appear the new neoclassical influences that will shape a sculptural style, especially when it relates to religious sculpture.

In this sense, also change the themes and allegorical images begin to appear and mythological figures.

They show these, decorative elements Gleva Sanctuary, situated in Les Masies of Voltregà , and the church of Santa María de Arenys de Mar .

The latter is dominated by a huge gilded altarpiece fail every angle of the back of the altar of the church to do the work and persistence conducted in this great work visible.

From the outset and is composed of two distinct parts: the base and the top. Not only differ in styles, but also a sculptor and time.

The base consists of geometric decorations golden, light and dark colors. The top, in turn, consists of a lower bottom and two central decorative levels divided into five vertical parts. The central part is higher than the rest from the lower level.

Moreover, the entire altar is crowned by whole unsupported sculptures on the back. Also dominated Solomonic columns and other smooth style but with vegetable decorations.

With all of these items, the altarpiece becomes a work of exceptional showmanship.

Baroque painting

In the field of Baroque painting highlights the work of Antoni Viladomat, a Barcelona painter who did a series of paintings devoted to the life of Francis of Assisi, in addition to the paintings found in dels Dolors Chapel of the Basilica of Santa Maria in Mataró .

Of paintings found in the Chapel dels Dolors include pictures of the evangelists and the apostles and the Via Crucis. These works and all together represent the most important eighteenth century has been preserved in its original state until today Catalan pictorial whole.

The expression of the feeling of suffering and sadness that offer the images depicted in these paintings is another element to consider in the good work of their authors and painters of this period.

Other arts

Leaving aside the arts considered more important: architecture, sculpture and painting, we should also talk about other arts that have not left much trace but were also noteworthy in this historical period, Catalonia during the eighteenth century.

On one side is the literary world centered in the theater, especially tragedies, dramas and comedies in Spanish for those who were part of the upper classes of society and with good economic and cultural level; and other theater in Catalan that spoke of a closer reality to which the public was addressed, the lower classes.

Moreover, not least, find music. It is not an expression of arts that little give, but Catalonia had become, in a sense, isolated from Europe and this made ??the cost of reaching European influence.

This, along with the little social life that musicians could perform in Catalonia given the political circumstances that the country was doing it practically unfeasible a significant growth in the musical arts.

In addition, this forced, in turn, much of Catalan musicians to emigrate abroad to find a future in the music field.

Still, in Catalonia Montserrat Abbey which lent open to European influences, especially the Italian and French he was.

Similarly, although with less echo, in Barcelona found a sample of attachment to Europe since, albeit a timidly, opera remained.