The art of Spain and Spanish America during the 17th century is overwhelmingly religious―it was intended to arouse wonder, devotion, and identification. Its forms and meanings are inextricably linked to the beliefs and religious practices of the people for whom it was made. In this groundbreaking book, scholars of art and religion look at new ways to understand the reception of use of these images in the practice of belief. As a result, the book argues for a fundamental reappraisal of the cultural role of the Church based on an analysis of the specific devotional and ritual contexts of Spanish art. 
Handsomely illustrated essays discuss paintings, polychrome sculptures, metalwork, and books. They call attention to the paradoxical nature of the most characteristic visual forms of Spanish Catholicism: material richness and external display as expressions of internal spirituality, strict doctrinal orthodoxy accompanied by artistic expression of surprising unconventionality, the calculated social projection of new devotional themes, and the divergence of popular religious practices from officially prescribed ones.

Sacred Spain: Art and Belief in the Spanish World

Arts & Photography

Christian Jr., William A.

Alcalá, Luisa Elena

Portús, Javier

Cuadriello, Jaime

G. de Ceballos, Alfonso Rodríguez

de Carlos Varona, María Cruz

History & Criticism

Indianapolis Museum of Art.

One of the most influential, admired painters to ever live: a look at some of Velázques’s court portraits from 1649 to his death in 1660
Diego Velázquez was one of the most important and influential painters in the Spanish Golden Age and the leading artist in King Philip IV’s court. To accompany an exhibition at the Museo Nacional del Prado in Spain, this book analyzes the development of Velázquez’s court portraits from his second trip to Rome in 1649 to his death in Madrid in 1660, a period that saw the creation of some of the greatest of all masterpieces within this genre, such as Las Meninas.
Also included are portraits produced in Velázquez’s circle that focus on the complex process behind the creation of the royal image. The book traces the subsequent development of the Spanish court portrait after Velázquez’s death when artists such as Mazo and Carreno reinterpreted his ideas, resulting in innovative contributions to the genre in their depictions of Margarita of Austria, Mariana of Austria, and Charles II. 92 illustrations, 83 in color

Velázquez: Las Meninas and the Late Royal Portraits

Turina, Miguel Morán

Sommer-Mathis, Andrea

Thames&Hudson

Unprecedented survey of Spanish portrait painters, covering 500 years. Draws on the wealth of the collections at the Prado and internationally.

Spanish Portrait from El Greco to Picasso

Scala Arts Publishers, Inc.

Ribera

Ediciones Polígrafa

Painter and printmaker José Ribera (1591-1652, also known as Jusepe de Ribera) was among the earliest and best-loved exponents of Caravaggio's "Tenebrism," in which stark drama is drawn from extreme contrasts of light and shadow. Despite the tendency to identify him with the Spanish school, Ribera was quick to leave his native land, moving to Italy around 1611, and living in Rome and Naples; however, he often signed his paintings "Jusepe de Ribera, Spaniard." In these early years, Ribera practiced the Caravaggian style, creating many Tenebrist masterpieces (such as his 1630 portrait of Archimedes) before embracing more diffuse effects of lighting. With Poligrafa's beautifully printed introduction to Ribera, Javier Portús, Chief Curator of Spanish Baroque Painting at the Prado, opens up a new approach to Ribera's career, focusing on the early Tenebrist years in Rome and Naples.

Individual Artists

Velázquez

Editorial Palacios y Museos

Painting

This meticulous edition is a descriptive catalogue including illustrations of all the works appearing in the exhibition.

Velazquez's Fables

T.F. Editores, S.L.C.

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Books by Portús, Javier