Plateresque

The term Plateresque came from the silversmith trade. Diego Ortiz de Zúñiga used it for the first time, applying it to the Royal Chapel of the Cathedral of Seville in the 17th century. == Problems of geographical area and consideration as Style ==

, in Cañas, La Rioja, Spain (15th century), in Burgos, Castile and León, Spain Traditionally Plateresque has been considered a style exclusively "Spanish", a term also applied to architecture in the Spanish territories held by the Spanish Crown between the 15th and 17th centuries. But by the mid-20th century this geographical connotation was questioned under the arguments of several authors, especially Camón Aznar (1945) and Rosenthal (1958), who defined Plateresque generically as a unitary amalgam of elements – Gothic, Muslim, and Renaissance. Aznar does not regard it as a style properly denoted as Renaissance, and Rosenthal emphasizes its association with certain buildings in other European countries, mainly France and Portugal, but also Germany and others. This problem highlights the imprecision of the name Plateresque and the difficulties inherent in using it to describe productions from a period of confusion and transition between styles, especially since they are characterized by decorative profusion suggesting an attempt to disguise the failure of Spanish architects to develop new structural and spatial ideas. It has even been suggested that this problem could be solved by identifying what is called Plateresque as the replacement of Gothic decoration with grotesques inspired by the works of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio. Any persuasive argument, however, must admit that the Plateresque or Protorenaissance was an artistic movement that responded to the demands of the ruling classes of imperial Spain, which had just completed the Reconquista and begun the colonization of the Americas. The Spanish were developing a consciousness of their growing power and wealth, and in their exuberance launched a period of construction of grand monuments to symbolize these with what are now considered national treasures. == Features ==

Spanish Plateresque Typical Plateresque façades, like those of altarpieces, were made as carefully as if they were the works of goldsmiths, and decorated as profusely. The decoration, although of various inspirations, was mainly of plant motifs, but also had a profusion of medallions, heraldic devices and animal figures, among others. Plateresque utilized a wealth of materials: gold plates on crests and roofs, vases, etc. There is evidence of more polychrome works at the conclusion of the first third of the 16th century, when there appeared heraldic crests of historical provenance and long balustrades, to mention one kind of less busy decoration. The proliferation of decoration for all architectural surfaces led to the creation of new surfaces and subspaces, which were in turn decorated profusely, such as niches and aediculas. Italian elements were also being developed progressively as decoration: rustications, classical capitals, Roman arches and especially grotesques. in León, Castile and León, Spain, built between 1537 and 1715. The decoration had specific meanings and can not be read as merely decorative; thus laurels, military shields and horns-of-plenty were placed in the houses of military personnel. In a similar vein, Greek and Roman myths were depicted elsewhere to represent abstract humanist ideals, so that the decorative became a means to express and disseminate Renaissance ideals. However, there were few spatial changes with respect to the Gothic tradition. American Plateresque (1535-1567) in Atlatlahucan, Morelos, Mexico, is a Plateresque Gothic church that is a World Heritage Site by UNESCO In the Americas, especially in today's Mexico, various indigenous cultures were in certain stages of development that can be considered Baroque when the Spanish brought with them the Plateresque style. This European phenomenon mixed symbiotically with local traditions, so that pure Gothic architecture was not built in the Americas, but the Plateresque mixed with Native American influences, soon evolving into what came to be called American Baroque. == History ==

The Plateresque style follows the line of Isabelline, where decorative elements of Italianate origin combine with Iberian traditional elements to form ornamental complexes that overlay the Gothic structures. We can speak of Plateresque that retains Gothic forms as a basis until 1530. After that date, although it continued to be used and Plateresque ornaments were still evolving, it became part of an architecture that was beginning to incorporate Renaissance ideas. In 1563, with the start of construction of the monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, the Renaissance architecture was purified through the interventions of Juan de Herrera, which ended the splendor and spread of the Plateresque in the Iberian Peninsula. The style survived until the early 20th century, featured in national and regional 'revivals'. It spread widely, and though not accepted in the critical circles of academia, some examples can be found on the Gran Vía of Madrid. In Mexico there was also a new iteration of Plateresque which spread to the Southwestern United States, beginning in the first half of the 18th century. This Neo-plateresque is not to be confused with that of Spain at the end of 19th and early 20th centuries, the so-called Monterrey style. == Examples ==

Plateresque architects and artists (1524-1610) in Salamanca, Castile and León, Spain • Of First Plateresque. • Diego de Alcázar • Alonso de Covarrubias • Martín de Gainza • Andrés de Vandelvira • Diego Siloe • Of Neo-Plateresque. • Eduardo Adaro Magro • José López Sallaberry Plateresque buildings, architectural elements, and other works , built between 1604-1622, in Bogotá, Colombia. • The façade of Convent of San Marcos (León). • The Tower of Guadramiro (Salamanca). • The castle of the Maqueda street. • The façade of the University of Salamanca. • The façade of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major of Pontevedra. • The Hospital of the Catholic Monarchs of Santiago de Compostela. • The façade of the New Cathedral of Salamanca. • The façade of the Convent of San Esteban of Salamanca. • The cloister of the Convent of las Dueñas of Salamanca. • The façade of the Church of Sancti Spiritus of Salamanca. • The Palace of Monterrey in Salamanca. • The façade of the Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso, of the University of Alcalá de Henares. • The Casa de las Conchas of Salamanca. • The Convent of San Marcos of León. • The City Council of Seville. • The façade of Forgiveness and the balcony of the relics of the Cathedral of Coria. • The Gate of la Pellejería of the Cathedral of Burgos. • The Hospital del Rey of Burgos. • The antecrypt and retrochoir of the Cathedral of Palencia. • The University of Oñati, Basque Country, Spain. • The Porta Maior of Viveiro. • The ironworks of the Casa de Pilatos Seville. • The façade of the Church of Santo Tomás in Haro. • The pulpit of the Church of San Andrés Apóstol of Villanueva de los Infantes. • The Main Entrance of the Cathedral of Santa María la Menor of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. • Casa de los Cinco Medallones in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, it was built in 1540. • The House of the Sun of the Hearst Castle of San Simeon, California, USA, based in the Spanish plateresque architecture. • The Administration Building at Texas Tech University which was directly inspired by University of Alcalá. • The Velarde Palace in Santillana del Mar. • Rosary Cathedral in Toledo, Ohio. • The cloister of the Real Monasterio De San Zoilo, Carrión de los Condes, Palencia • The Palace of the Conquest in Trujillo, Spain • Colegio Mayor de San Bartolomé, built between 1604-1622, in Bogotá, Colombia. == Plateresque Revival ==

In the Spanish Colonial Revival architecture style centuries later, it was differentiated from the earlier and plainer Mission Revival style with the additional refinement of Plateresque and Churrigueresque detailing. Bertram Goodhue and Carleton Winslow Sr. studied Spanish Colonial structures in Mexico before designing the 1915 Panama–California Exposition in San Diego, California, that introduced this style to the United States and subsequent widespread popularity. In Mexico there are other examples, such as the Palacio de Correos de Mexico. In Cuba there is the Havana Central railway station, and in Guatemala there is the National Palace of Culture. == See also ==