Expeditions to the Americas, and the often destructive colonization and evangelization that followed, helped the Spanish monarchs to amass a great fortune based on indigenous labor and natural resources.
1400 - 1600
Beginner's guide
During the Renaissance, the Spanish empire extended throughout Western Europe.
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The Renaissance in Spain, The Morata Master
Get to know fifteenth-century Aragonese painting, which draws on Italian and Northern Renaissance influences.
St. Michael defeats the devil in Renaissance Spain
Roll over Bellini, and tell Tintoretto the news. The Renaissance in Spain.
Bartolomé Bermejo, Piedad with Canon Lluís Desplà
Two years before the Spanish expel the Jews and begin their invasion of the Americas, an artist paints an image of redemption.
Fifteenth-century Spanish painting, an introduction
The Northern Renaissance style comes to Spain and is gloriously transformed.
Expanding the Renaissance: a new Smarthistory initiative
Must all renaissance art history trumpet the achievements of famed artists such as Masaccio, Leonardo and Van Eyck? Can we center other narratives?
The Renaissance in Spain
Stretching from Europe to the Philippines, the Spanish Empire amassed great wealth—and spent lavishly on art.
El Escorial, Spain
The severe exterior of this palace complex belies its highly decorative interior, once filled with art.
El Greco, Adoration of the Shepherds
Wild! Everything seems transient in this otherworldly scene, but El Greco’s bold colors stay with us.
El Greco, View of Toledo
Is that a Van Gogh? Centuries ahead of its time, this radical cityscape captures external and internal conflict.
El Greco, Burial of the Count Orgaz
One of art history’s most famous paintings, this scene remains mysterious. Are we outside at night, or in a chapel?