The Golden Age of Painting in Spain

El Greco, Ribera, Velazquez, Murillo - these were but a few of the great 16th and 17th century artists whose genius illuminated Spain's golden age of painting. In this book, Jonathan Brown surveys the development of painting in Spain during this period, focussing on the interaction between art and the prevailing socio-economic and political conditions. Brown situates the history of Spanish painting within a European context, showing that Spain was in continual contact with artistic centres in Italy and the Netherlands. He also discusses non-Spanish painters such as Titian, Rubens and Luca Giordano, who worked in Spain or whose art had been influential there. Under Brown's analysis, Spain becomes a historical model of a country that receives artistic impulses from abroad and transforms them to fit the needs of its society. This history should enlighten students, scholars, and the general reader.