Romanesque art and Mudejar and Gothic architecture
Under the reign of Sancho the Great (1004-1035), Navarre was a powerful kingdom. Navarrese hegemony was reflected in the artistic flourishing along the Pilgrim's Way to Santiago in Navarre, with the construction of numerous churches, monasteries and chapels. La Rioja, under Navarrese rule at the time, also benefited from this architectural influence. One example is the Suso monastery, a Unesco World Heritage site, which Sancho the Great ordered to be amplified (enlarged and completed) and restored in 1030, in pure Romanesque style.
The Romanesque style continued to flourish until the 12th century, during which time Muslim influences gave rise to Mudejar architecture. Muslims, who had become Christian subjects of the Kingdom of Spain, applied their characteristic architectural style to religious buildings (churches, but also synagogues) and civic buildings. One easily identifiable feature is the horseshoe arch and its variants: arcs larger than semicircles, reminiscent of bulbs, complete the upper part of windows and openings. The Mudéjares were also responsible for the first use ofazulejos, the famous earthenware tiles on the Iberian Peninsula - for which Portugal is now famous. TheSan Bartoloméo church in Logroño, Rioja, dates back to the 12th century, making it the oldest in the town. It is a magnificent example of Mudejar Romanesque architecture. Its originality lies in its bell tower, once part of the city walls, which was an integral part of Logroño's defensive system. It was only when these were destroyed that the building was able to stand out, giving the church the shape we know today.
In the 13th century, the crown of Navarre united with the kingdom of France. Under French influence, Gothic architecture entered Spain via Navarre. It was expressed not only in religious architecture, but also in painting, sculpture and goldsmithing. Pamplona's Santa María cathedral andOlite 's main monuments date from this period. Gothic style only developed later in the Basque Country, mainly from the 14th century onwards. The growth of large cities during this period led to the construction of numerous houses, administrative and religious buildings, notably in Vitoria-Gasteiz, where several Gothic buildings can be admired, including Santa María Cathedral, the church of San Miguel and the Casa del Cordón.
From the Plateresque style to the Baroque, through the Renaissance
Spain stands out in Europe for an ornamental tradition that has stood the test of time, adapting to the times and always taking on new forms, even triumphing over the purified classicism of the Renaissance.
In the 16th century, the wealth generated by the discovery of the Americas led to the construction or restoration of numerous buildings. It was during this period that the Plateresque style developed, marking the transition from Gothic to Italian Renaissance in Spain.
This style is distinguished by its refined ornamentation, reminiscent of the work of a silversmith, from which it takes its name: platero refers to a silversmith working with silver. This hybrid style is inherited from both Mudejar and Flamboyant Gothic architecture. It marks the ascendancy of ornamentation over structure in building design. It is therefore the decorative elements that characterize it, while the structures retain their Gothic, and later Classical, style. It was divided into two distinct and consecutive periods, commonly referred to as Isabelline Gothic (1480-1520) and Plateresque Renaissance (1520-1560). A magnificent example of the latter can be found in Guipuscoa, in the Basque Country, on the façade and patio of theSancti Spiritus University in Oñati.
From the late 16th to the mid-18th century, the Baroque style imposed its ornamental profusion on the codes of the time. It marked the pinnacle of Spanish-style ornamental architecture. It reached its apogee in the Basque Country with the construction of the Loyola sanctuary in the 18th century, a masterpiece of "churrigueresque" Baroque: the name given to the interpretation of Baroque in Spain, characterized by an overabundance of ornamentation. It takes its name from a famous family of altarpiece sculptors in Salamanca, the Churigguera family. This style blends the ornamental heritage of the past with even greater profusion, borrowing here from Mudejar motifs, there from Plateresque, in the extravagance bordering on excess that characterizes it.
"The Bilbao Effect and Contemporary Architecture
The region's architecture was not particularly distinctive during the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, and seems to have been borrowed here and there from its European neighbors. However, the beauty of buildings such as Bilbao's Concordia station (1898), with its yellow and green steel and glass facade characteristic of railway terminals at the time, must be acknowledged, following the discovery of these new structural materials. Basque facades, from Bilbao to San Sebastián, via Vitoria-Gasteiz, are often adorned with bow windows with white frames, more or less elaborate and housing loggias. In some cases, these curved projecting windows form irregular blocks protruding from the buildings, creating an original geometric effect on the facades. This is one of the distinctive features of urban housing on the Spanish side, which, like its French neighbor, did not experience the rise of the neo-Basque style during the 20th century. While it's difficult to characterize the use of bow-windows precisely, there are a number of different styles. Their use seems to have spread from the end of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th.
Bilbao is surely the emblem of contemporary architecture in the region, if not in Spain. The construction of Frank Gehry's Guggenheim in 1997 marked the revival of this former industrial city, and a significant boost to its tourist appeal and economic dynamism, turning it into the cosmopolitan city it is today. His design evokes the city's port past. Its organic lines and titanium walls are reminiscent of scales, a tapering hull or the sails of a ship. This shell of steel, glass and titanium houses a large atrium - one of the architect's signatures - which extends over the building's various floors. The galleries take the form of large volumes that house the works - the Richard Serra room, custom-built to accommodate the artist's large oxidized steel plates, is one of the most impressive. The shapes of the sculptures match those of the architect.
The extravagant curves of the titanium museum are now echoed in the glass facades of the Basque Health Department building (COLL-BARREU Arquitectos 2008), with its strange organic geometry. The metro is by Norman Foster. Its glass mouths evoke a translucent worm emerging from the ground to swallow passengers. The British architect has also been commissioned to redesign the Museum of Fine Arts, scheduled for completion in late 2024/early 2025.
The Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava designed the Zubizuri footbridge ("white bridge" in Basque), which is recognizable by its contrasting curves: the footbridge forms a circular arc over the Nervion, while the structural arch that supports it unfolds in an opposite curve. Along with Gehry's work, this is the other emblem of the capital of the province of Bizkaia. This artistic and architectural profusion earned the city the title of Best European City in 2018.
The bodegas of the D.O.C. (Spanish equivalent of the A.O.C.) Rioja are also undergoing a small revolution, investing colossal sums in the construction of avant-garde buildings. The Bodegas Ysios, for example, are also by Santiago Calatrava; their undulating roofs reflect the sky like a sparkling sea, with the sierra in the background. Best suited to a stroll around the exterior, however, as the reception area has a bad reputation.
Frank Gehry has also been active in Rioja, designing a veritable wine city for Bodegas Marqués de Riscal. Cascades of titanium spill over a concrete building, evoking a Dionysian delirium. Their pink, gold and silver reflections are as reminiscent of Marqués de Riscal bottle tops as they are of the colors of the red wine for which Rioja is famous. Once again, a work characteristic of the soaring style of the American architect.
In San Sebastian, a visit to the forecourt of the Kursaal auditorium is a must, where Rafael Moneo's Deux rochers échoués (1999) ( Two Beached Rocks ), as the name suggests, are two sloping cobblestones perched between sea and land. At night, they light up completely, becoming a landmark on San Sebastian's seafront. Designed on a double-walled structure, a large volume is left free inside the steel and glass facades, giving access to the concert hall, enclosed, as if in a case, behind wooded walls. By the same architect: the General and Royal Archives of Navarre, Pamplona. These take up the form of the original building, perched on a rock, in a more streamlined style but using the same materials, as well as reproducing in a stylized way medieval forms - such as towers and openings.
Also in Pamplona, the Aquavox hydrothermal center (2009) by Basque architect J. M. Otxotorena offers a beautifully rhythmic ensemble. Its facade is composed of a concrete curtain wall that punctuates the light flooding into the pools. An ideal cure for architecture lovers!
