Description
Book SynopsisLuis de Morales, known as El Divino because of his intensely religious subject matter, is the most significant and recognisable Spanish painter of the mid-sixteenth century, the high point of the Spanish and Portuguese counter-reformations. He spent almost his entire working life in the Spanish city of Badajoz, not far from the border with Portugal and did not travel outside of a small area around that city, covering both sides of the border. The social, political and cultural environment of Badajoz and its environs is crucial for a thorough understanding of his output. This book provides that context in detail, looking at literature and liturgical theatre, the situation of converted Jews and Muslims, the presence of Erasmianism, Lutheranism and Illuminism (Alumbradismo), devotional writing for lay people and proximity to the Braganca ducal palace in Portugal as a means of explaining this most enigmatic of painters.
Trade Review“Luis de Morales was long considered a shadowy figure, but that perception has changed—and Jean Andrews explains why, exploring the context in which Morales’s work was produced (the popular culture and religious life of Badajoz and Portugal), and examining the art in light of this. The result is a study of paintings that reveals their beauty, subtlety and depth.”
-- Terence O’Reilly, University College Cork
“This is the first major monograph in English on one of the greatest religious painters of Renaissance Spain. Andrews richly illuminates key paintings spanning Luis de Morales’s decades-long career in relation to Spanish devotional culture before and after Trent. Traversing disciplinary boundaries, she brings together exquisitely close analysis of the works themselves with considerations of liturgical theatre, sermons, and spiritual treatises. She also moves beyond national narratives of art history to consider Morales as an Iberian painter who lived and worked at the geographical and artistic crossroads of Portugal and Spain.”
-- Laura R. Bass, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
Table of ContentsTable of Contents List of Figures Preface Chapter I: Badajoz in the 1540s: City of Joy Chapter II: Badajoz in the 1550s: Iconographical Licence Chapter III: Badajoz in the 1560s: Meditation on the Life and Death of Christ Chapter IV: Tridentine Badajoz and its environs: The Model Male Penitent Chapter V: Both Sides of the Border: The Two Franciscos Bibliography
