Some Account of Gothic Architecture in Spain Part 31

Composuerunt primum lapidem Johannes Ximenes de Enciso deca.n.u.s, et Petrus Ximenes archidiaconus de Verberiego, et ego Rodericus Martini Vaco de Enciso, canonicus ejusdem ecclesiae, et artium et theologiae magister, dedi duplam unam auri in auro, dicens haec verba magistro Johanni aedificatori princ.i.p.ali praedictae capellae; accipite in signum vestri laboris, et en protestationem, quod Dominus Deus ad cujus gloriam et honorem ecclesia et capella ista fundari incipit, implebit residuum ad preces gloriosae Virginis Mariae matris suae, et Sanctorum martirum Hemeterij et Caledonij, in quorum honore fundata est ecclesia. In quorum testimonium supradicta manu propria subscripsi. Rodericus artium et theologiae magister."

It is remarkable that in the case of so important a city as Seville there is no mention of an architect to the cathedral before A.D. 1462, in which year Juan Norman was appointed, with Pedro de Toledo as a.s.sistant ("aparejador") till A.D. 1472, when the Chapter appointed three "Maestros Mayores" or princ.i.p.al masters, to the end that the work might go on faster: but it seems, as might be expected, that these men were none of them architects, for in A.D. 1496 the archbishop, being at Guadalajara, was persuaded that it was not well to trust such ill-informed persons, as their employment would end in loss to the fabric, and so he called in one Maestro Jimon, who went to Seville and was made Maestro Mayor until A.D. 1502.

The works at the Parral, Segovia, A.D. 1472-94, afford another example of an architect acting also as contractor for the work; and about the same time a monk of this convent, Juan de Escobedo, superintended the repair of the aqueduct, and was afterwards sent to the Queen (Isabella) to report to her on the state of various buildings in Segovia.

In 1482 Pedro Compte, of Valencia, said to be "Molt sabut en l'art de la pedra," was the architect of the Exchange at Valencia--a building evidently copied to some extent from Sagrera's Exchange at Palma; and at a later date he was employed upon some water-works for the keeping up the waters in the Guadalaviar at Valencia. He held the post of Maestro Mayor of the city, with an annual salary. In him we seem to have not only an architect and engineer, but one of so much character and influence as to hold important posts, being "alcaide perpetuo" as well as Maestro Mayor of the city.

In the beginning of the sixteenth century the new cathedral at Salamanca was commenced, but only after a vast amount of consultation among architects. The king had to order Anton Egas of Toledo, and Alfonso Rodriguez of Seville, to go to Salamanca and decide upon the plan for the church, and these two men drew up a joint plan which they presented to the Chapter; two or three years later, nothing having been done in the mean time, a Junta of nine architects was a.s.sembled, who jointly agreed on a very elaborate report, detailing all the parts and proportions of the church; and their report having been presented, the Chapter forthwith proceeded to elect a master of the works.[448]

Rodrigo Gil de Hontanon was appointed; and by his will, dated in May, A.D. 1577, it appears that he had a house rent-free, as well as his salary of 30,000 maravedis a year.[449] He had also liberty to undertake other works; for, a few years later, he designed the cathedral at Segovia, and by his will it seems that he had several other churches in hand, in some of which it is evident that he acted as contractor, as he complains bitterly of the difficulties he had been put to by the large sums he had paid for the work at the church of San Julian at Toro, without being repaid by the authorities. It is remarkable that the works at Salamanca were examined from time to time by two architects, who reported whether Hontanon was following the instructions laid down for his guidance by the Junta, and this supervision rather leads to the inference that the design was not made by Hontanon, but prepared for him; and that it was necessary, as it is nowadays, to employ some one to see that he executed his work properly. The curiously exact terms of the report of the Junta, which specifies the height, thickness, and proportions of all the walls in the church, could not have been adopted as they are unless the Junta had some plans before them when they drew up their report, and on the whole I think it probable that the plan which Egas and Rodriguez prepared formed the basis on which they proceeded. This plan is still said to be preserved in the archives, and it would be very interesting to see how far it agrees with the church which has been erected.[450]

But, on the other hand, there is a report upon the state of the works in A.D. 1523, given by Cean Bermudez, which tends to confirm Hontanon's position as a real architect.[451] It is signed by three architects, Juan de Rasinas, Henrique de Egas, and Vasco de la Zarza. They go into the question of the height to which the vaults ought to be carried, they say the walls are built properly, and, finally, that they were shown a plan of Juan Gil de Hontanon's for some alteration of the work, and that in their opinion it is good, and they have, therefore, signed it with their names.

There are other instances at this time of the a.s.semblage of Juntas of architects, of which one or two may properly be mentioned here; one of these was in reference to the Cimborio of the cathedral at Zaragoza which fell in A.D. 1520, when a number of architects were at once called together to advise as to its reconstruction; and again, in the same way, when the Cimborio at Seville fell, in A.D. 1511, several architects were consulted, and after they had reported, one of them--Hontanon, the fas.h.i.+onable architect of the day--was selected to manage the execution of the work.[452]

At this late date we have, I believe for the first time, the singular description of a man as "master maker of churches." This occurs in the contract entered into by Benedicto Oger, of Alio, for the erection of a church at Reus. From the terms of the contract Oger seems to have been a mason: he was to have three others with him, and was bound not to undertake any other work. And if the authorities desired it they were to have his work examined by another "master," though whether by one of his own grade, or a superior man, does not appear.

Another contract of a somewhat similar kind was entered into in A.D.

1518 by Domingo Urteaga for the erection of the church of Sta. Maria de Cocentaina, in Valencia. He bound himself to go with his wife and family to Cocentaina, where the town was to give him a house rent free. He was to do all that a "master" ought in the management of such a work, without attending to other works, and was to receive each day for himself five sueldos, and was to provide two a.s.sistants and two apprentices, the former to have three sueldos each, and the latter one and a half. He was to be every day at the work, having half an hour for breakfast, and an hour for dinner in winter, and an hour and a half in summer. Here again, though Urteaga was evidently only a foreman of the works, there is no reference to any superintendent or architect, and nothing is said about any plans which are to be followed. I conclude, therefore, that in this case too the foreman of the masons was really the architect.

In addition to the men I have here rapidly mentioned, there were many others whose work was confined to the design and execution of certain portions of buildings; such a one was Berengario Portell, "lapicida" of Gerona, who in A.D. 1325 entered into a contract for the execution of the columns of the cloister of Vique cathedral, and who is commonly said to have executed the columns and capitals for the cloister at Ripoll also. Such, in later days, was Gil de Siloe, who both designed and executed the monuments at Miraflores; and such, though in a less eminent position, were the various woodcarvers, decorators, painters on gla.s.s, makers of metal screens, and the like, the names of a great number of whom are still preserved in the volumes of Cean Bermudez.[453]

There is also another officer who ought not to be forgotten here--the "aparejador" or a.s.sistant of the architect--clerk of the works as we should call him. About his office there is no doubt, but it will have been observed that some men who held it--as _e.g._ Juan Campero--have at other times acted as architects or contractors, which is precisely what might be expected.

There are a few but not very important cases of compet.i.tion among artists recorded in the work of Cean Bermudez; but generally they seem to me to have been rather compet.i.tions for the execution of work than for its design. Such, for instance, was the compet.i.tion for the execution of the monument of D. Alvaro de Luna and his wife in Toledo cathedral, when the design of Pablo Ortiz was selected.[454] Cristobal Andino is said to have competed unsuccessfully with other men, in A.D.

1540, for the execution of the iron screens of Toledo cathedral. Cean Bermudez speaks also of a compet.i.tion among architects as to the rebuilding of Segovia cathedral;[455] but I doubt whether his statement can be depended on.

The result at which we arrive after this _resume_ of the practice of Spanish architects is certainly that it was utterly unlike the practice of our own day. Whether it was either better or worse I can hardly venture to say; it seems to me, indeed, to be of comparatively little importance whether an architect is paid as of old by the year, or as now by a commission on the cost of the works; probably the difference in amount is seldom serious; but on the other hand it is possible that where special contracts are made the sums paid are not always the same, and so the absurd rule by which at present the best and the worst architect both get the same amount of pay for their work is avoided; one result of this rule is, that the architect of the highest reputation, in order to reap the pecuniary reward to which he is ent.i.tled, is tempted to undertake so much work that it is impossible for him to attend to half of it, and so in time, unless he have an extraordinary capacity for rapid work, his work deteriorates, and his reputation is likely to suffer.

The other old custom common in Spain--of architects contracting for the execution of their own works--does not seem to deserve much respect; yet one cannot but see that it was a natural result of the universal feeling and taste for art which seems to have obtained in the middle ages; and though it would now certainly be mere madness to ask any chance builder to execute an architectural work, there are undoubtedly many builders who are at least as well fitted to do so as are a large number of those who, without study or proper education, are nevertheless able, unchallenged by any one, to call themselves architects.

On the whole, then, it is vain to regret the pa.s.sing away of a system which is foreign to the nature and ideas of an artistic profession such as that of the architects of England now; though if these old men, whose art and whose interests pulled opposite ways--seeing they were architects and contractors--did their work so honestly that it still stands unharmed by time, we may well take great shame to ourselves if the rules for our personal respectability, about which we are all so jealous, are yet in practice so often compatible, apparently, with a system of shams and makes.h.i.+fts, of false construction and bad execution, of which these old architect-builders were almost wholly guiltless.

The questions between ourselves and them, when simply stated, are these--Whose work is best in itself, and whose work will last the longest? If these questions cannot be answered in our favour, then it is absurd to protest vigorously against the practice which we see pursued by such men as Juan Campero, Martin Llobet, Juan de Ruesga, Guillermo Sagrera, or Pedro de c.u.mba, and we shall do well to admit, whenever necessary, that he is the best architect who designs the best building, whatever his education; though it is undoubtedly true that he is most likely to be the best architect who is the best taught, the most refined, and the most regularly educated in his art.

It is often, and generally thoughtlessly, a.s.sumed, that most of the churches of the middle ages were designed by monks or clerical architects. So far as Spain is concerned, the result at which we arrive is quite hostile to this a.s.sumption, for in all the names of architects that I have noticed there are but one or two who were clerics. The abbat who in the eighth or ninth century rebuilt Leon cathedral is one; Frater Bernardus of Tarragona, in A.D. 1256, another; and the monk of El Parral, who restored the Roman aqueduct at Segovia, is the third; and the occurrence of these three exceptions to the otherwise general rule, proves clearly, I think, that in Spain the distinct position of the architect was understood and accepted a good deal earlier than it was, perhaps, in England. In our own country it is indeed commonly a.s.serted that the bishops and abbats were themselves the architects of the great churches built under their rule. Gundulph, Flambard, Walsingham, and Wykeham, have all been so described, but I suspect upon insufficient evidence; and those who have devoted the most study and time to the subject seem to be the least disposed to allow the truth of the claim made for them. The contrary evidence which I am able to adduce from Spain certainly serves to confirm these doubts. I was myself strongly disposed once to regard the attempt to deprive us of our great clerical architects as a little sacrilegious; but I am bound to say that I have now changed my mind, and believe that the attempt was only too well warranted by the facts. In short, the common belief in a race of clerical architects and in ubiquitous bodies of freemasons, seems to me to be altogether erroneous. The more careful the inquiry is that we make into the customs of the architects of the middle ages, the more clear does it appear that neither of these cla.s.ses had any general existence; and in Spain, so far as I have examined, I have met with not a single trace of either. I am glad that it is so; for in these days of doubt and perplexity as to what is true in art, it is at least a comfort to find that one may go on heartily with one's work, with the honest conviction that the position one occupies may be, if one chooses to make it so, as nearly as possible the same as that occupied by the artists of the middle ages. So that, as it was open to them--often with small means and in spite of many difficulties--to achieve very great works of lasting architectural merit, the time may come when, if we do our work with equal zeal, equal artistic feeling, and equal honesty, our own names will be added to the list, which already includes theirs, of artists who have earned the respect and affection of all those whose everyday life is blessed with the sight of the true and beautiful works which in age after age they have left behind them as enduring monuments of their artistic skill.

APPENDIX.

(A.)

CATALOGUE OF DATED EXAMPLES OF SPANISH BUILDINGS, FROM THE TENTH TO THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY INCLUSIVE.

NOTE.--_The dates of those Examples which are printed in Italics appear to me to be very uncertain, or are those of buildings which I have not visited._

DATE. PLACE. REMARKS.

914 BARCELONA Church of San Pablo del Campo, said to have been built.

983 BARCELONA San Pedro de las Puellas consecrated.

1017 GERONA _Church of Saint Daniel commenced._ 1038 GERONA Consecration of first Cathedral, of which remains exist.

1058 ELNE Consecration of Church.

1063 LEON The Panteon, San Isidoro, appears to have been finished in this year.

1078 SANTIAGO Cathedral commenced.

1078 SANTIAGO South transept doorways erected.

1085 TOLEDO The Church "Cristo de la Luz" existed before this date.

1090 AVILA Town walls commenced.

1091 AVILA Cathedral commenced.

1109 TOLEDO Outer circuit of walls.

1117 GERONA _Church of San Pedro de los Galligans commenced._ 1117 GERONA Cloisters of Cathedral erected.

1108} to } TOLEDO Puerta de Visagra erected.

1126} 1120 SALAMANCA Old Cathedral commenced.

1128 SANTIAGO Fabric of Cathedral so far finished as to be used.

1129 LUGO Cathedral commenced.

1131 TARRAGONA Cathedral commenced.

1136 SALAMANCA _San Tome de los Caballeros consecrated._ 1146 BARCELONA Collegiata of Sta. Ana founded.

1146 VERUELA Abbey commenced.

1149 LEON Church of San Isidoro consecrated in this year.

1156 SALAMANCA _Church of San Adrian consecrated._ 1171 VERUELA Abbey first occupied, and probably completed in this year.

1173 BARCELONA _Royal Chapel of Sta. Agueda, attached to the palace of the Counts of Barcelona, conpleted._ 1173 SALAMANCA _Church of San Martin consecrated._ 1174 ZAMORA Cathedral completed.

1175 SANTIAGO Chapel beneath west front of Cathedral finished about this year.

1177 LUGO Cathedral finished.

1178 SALAMANCA Cloister of old Cathedral in course of erection; Chapter-house probably erected at same time.

1179 SALAMANCA _Church of S. Thomas of Canterbury consecrated._ 1180 BURGOS Convent of Las Huelgas commenced; inhabited in 1187; formally established as a Cistercian Convent in 1199.

1180 POBLET _Benedictine Monastery founded._ 1188 SANTIAGO Western doors of Cathedral finished.

1188 TUDELA Cathedral consecrated.

1203 LeRIDA First stone of Cathedral laid.

1208 SEGOVIA Templars' Church consecrated.

1212 TOLEDO Bridge of San Martin erected.

1219 MONDOnEDO _Cathedral commenced._ 1221 BURGOS First stone of Cathedral laid.

1221 TOLEDO Church of San Roman consecrated.

1227 TOLEDO First stone of Cathedral laid.

1230 BURGOS Cathedral first used in this year.

1235 TARAZONA Cathedral founded.

1239 BARCELONA Chapel of Sta. Lucia, and doorway from cloister into south transept of Cathedral.

1252-84 AVILA Central Lantern of San Vicente built.

1258 TOLEDO Bridge of Alcantara rebuilt.

1262 VALENCIA First stone of Cathedral laid. South transept and apse of this date.

1273 LEON Cathedral in progress.

1278 LeRIDA Cathedral consecrated.

1278 TARRAGONA Nine of the statues of the Apostles in west front of Cathedral executed.

1287 BARCELONA Nuestra Senora del Carmen founded.

1292 AVILA Considerable works in the Cathedral under Sancho II., Bishop of Avila, 1292-1353.

1298 BARCELONA New Cathedral commenced.

1303 LEON Cathedral finished (save the towers) before this date.