The names of other Spanish artists, whose works exemplify special tendencies rather than the main lines of growth or the distinctive Iber ian characteristics, will be mentioned — with comment whenever that is required to differen tiate their talents— in the following para graphs.
Spanish Painting.— The history of Span ish painting falls into three main periods: First, the period of the Flemish influence; second, the period of the Italian influence; and third, the period in which the Spanish genius "found itself," gaining vastly in the power of inde pendent art-expression, and so, with creative art-impulses freed in a measure from bondage to foreign schools, though never wholly escap ing the tyranny of national institutions, politi cal, religious and social, finally acquired, as we said above, universal significance. About the end of the 15th century or the beginning of the 16th, the works of Antonio del Rinc6n at Granada and the panels of Fernando Gallegos at Salamanca and Zamora, as well as the easel paintings and panels of the early Seville paint ers, Juan Sanchez de Castro and Alejo Fer nandez, most clearly proclaim the northern in fluences still triumphant throughout the penin sula, as they had been continuously, except along the northeastern littoral and in the ex treme south, ever since 1435 or 1440. But the irresistible charm of the great Florentine mas ters was presently to be felt in Spain as in western Europe generally. A new world of artistic possibilities was revealed to Spanish art-students voyaging eastward just when Span ish soldiers and merchant-adventurers, year after year sailing westward, were engaged in exploring and conquering the New World of boundless material possibilities; and so, at this point in our study, we come upon a half-cen tury of inspiring, fancy-stirring Spanish ex periences — of a synchronous hazard of new fortunes in art and imperial expansion, in Italy and America. By the middle of the century, or just a little while afterward, the oceans and mountains, the rivers and "naked lands° had been explored, and that fever of daring ven tures abated. By the middle of the century, or a little before, the methods and aims and almost — not quite — the heart of the Italian Renaissance had also been explored; and by an altogether dramatic coincidence Seville, rather than any other Spanish city, received Italy's new message, and more than the other cities appreciated it, at the very time when she was receiving at her Tower of Gold all the amazing shipments of America's treasure.
Somewhat before the days of Luis de Var gas, the Italian influence became potent at Se ville, and for more than two generations, or until the close of the useful career of Francisco Pacheco, its control was not seriously contested except by Juan de las Roelas and Francisco Herrera the elder. In central Spain, meanwhile, the successors of Alonso Berruguete strove to pass from hand to hand the torch their distinguished master had kindled at the cinque cento flame, but here the efforts appear to have lacked continuity and organization. At
the Spanish court the northern tradition was still far from being dislodged: to prove this a glance at scrupulously conservative portraits painted by Alonso Sanchez Coello and Pantoja de la Cruz will be sufficient. Nevertheless the court was already attentive to the appeal of Italian painting — in this instance not the Tus can but the Venetian school. The superb col lection of Venetian pictures at Madrid, begun by Charles V and increased by Philip II, made that appeal, which became a resistless one when it had thus gained the compelling force of pro pinquity.
Now, the Renaissance spirit itself bespoke a freer quest of beauty than had ever before been conceded by Spanish realism; but the sit uation called for an apostle of freedom—and El Greco came. Domenico TheotocOpuli (El Greco), by the independent character of his work at Toledo, by the originality he probably advocated and certainly exemplified with won derful success, suggested to other painters, as a not unattainable ideal, the expression of per sonality without slavish dependence upon any foreign school whatever in the manner of its expression. As a zealous advocate of religious and social reforms speaks, often overempha sizing his "values" in order to convince his audience, so El Greco painted, often forgetting mere truth to nature; but fortunately the early training at Venice gave him that command of color and fluency in narration that are in evi dence even at such moments — perhaps espe cially at such moments. And of course the Venetian training counted in his favor and in favor of the acceptance of his novel theories by many Spaniards. The reason why such ac ceptance had become possible has been plainly stated in the two foregoing paragraphs. In Seville we find at almost the same time the progressive Juan de las Roelas and a bit later that declarant of independence, the elder Her rera, as above intimated. In Valencia the Italianized Francisco Ribalta was the teacher of Jacinto Jeronimo de Espinosa, who dis played independence in the choice of some of his themes. Ribalta also, it is much more im portant to note, was probably the first instruc tor of . that exceptional painter whose great talent embraced the best characteristics of both Spain and Italy, Jusepe de Ribera, called Lo Spagnoletto. It is not too much to say that Ribera added constructive reality to Theotoco puli's inspiring but vague theories and ideals of freedom and the free expression of per sonality. The Tolcdan has predisposed; now Ribera disposed, showing to all the definite, sure path that led to greatness through the en noblement, not through the abandonment, of the realistic bias — of the national propensity to ward realism. And so we place together the names El Greco and Lo Spagnoletto. The Greek said: "Find a way-." The Little Span iard said: "This is the way." Together, in this sense, they usher in the third period.