Seville’s Architectural Heritage: Baroque to 20th Century
Church of the Hospital de la Santa Caridad, Seville
This photograph showcases the Church of the Hospital de la Santa Caridad in Seville, a prime example of 17th-century Andalusian Baroque architecture. The building embodies the religious and artistic sensibilities of Seville’s High Baroque period.
Miguel de Mañara, a nobleman deeply committed to charity as a path to salvation, promoted the church. Its construction began in 1645 and concluded in the following decades, featuring the contributions of leading Sevillian artists.
Architecturally, the church presents a simple layout typical of Spanish Baroque: a single nave with a barrel vault, a small dome before the main altar, and a sacristy at the rear. Despite its structural simplicity, the space is adorned with an exuberant decorative program reflecting the persuasive and theatrical spirit of the Catholic Counter-Reformation.
The ensemble effectively conveys the didactic and emotional aims of Baroque art: to move the faithful and foster devotion. The building also highlights the significant role of 17th-century religious brotherhoods and their dedication to charitable works, such as providing aid and Christian burial to the poor and condemned.
Altarpiece of the Church of the Hospital de la Santa Caridad (Burial of Christ, Pedro Roldán)
This photograph features the main altarpiece of the Church of the Hospital de la Caridad in Seville. It is a masterpiece of Sevillian Baroque sculpture, created between 1670 and 1674, and includes Pedro Roldán’s Burial of Christ, a significant work by a leading Andalusian Baroque sculptor.
The altarpiece is structured with four colossal Solomonic columns, a characteristic of High Baroque style, enhancing the theatricality and vertical movement of the composition. At its center is the dramatic sculptural group of the Burial of Christ, which evokes Christian burial—a core mission of the brotherhood.
The expressiveness and movement of the figures, along with the rich gilding and polychromy, are hallmarks of Baroque sensibility, designed to evoke emotion and religious contemplation. The work’s iconographic program reinforces the concept of charity as the route to salvation, aligning with Miguel de Mañara’s vision.
This altarpiece stands as a religious and artistic landmark, demonstrating how sculpture and architecture merge in Baroque churches to create a comprehensive visual and spiritual experience.
The Works of Valdés Leal in the Church of the Hospital de la Santa Caridad, Seville
This photograph displays one of the two renowned paintings by Juan de Valdés Leal located at the base of the Church of the Hospital de la Caridad in Seville: In ictu oculi and Finis Gloriae Mundi, painted between 1671 and 1672.
Both works belong to the memento mori genre, intended to remind viewers of life’s transience and death’s inevitability. They reflect the Baroque preoccupation with vanitas and the futility of earthly pursuits. In In ictu oculi (“In the twinkling of an eye”), Death extinguishes the flame of life, while in Finis Gloriae Mundi (“The end of worldly glories”), a bishop and a king lie lifeless in a crypt, awaiting judgment.
Valdés Leal’s masterful use of tenebrism (strong light and shadow contrasts), dramatic composition, and macabre symbolism exemplify the most intense and emotional aspects of Spanish Baroque painting. These paintings served as visual sermons, perfectly aligning with the Counter-Reformation message and the brotherhood’s charitable mission.
They are crucial for understanding the visual and theological coherence of the Church of the Hospital de la Caridad as a complete work.
Sacristy of the Charterhouse of Granada
This photograph captures the sacristy of the Charterhouse of Granada, a quintessential example of 18th-century Andalusian Late Baroque. It is part of a monastic complex whose interior showcases the peak of decorative richness in Spanish religious architecture.
Constructed between the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the sacristy is a rectangular space covered by barrel and elliptical vaults. Its decorative scheme features a striking interplay between white plasterwork, a chequered floor, and the honey-coloured marble used for the base and rear altarpiece.
The sacristy exhibits a highly integrated decorative program, where architecture, sculpture, and painting coalesce into a unified and immersive space. The influence of visual illusionism is evident in how light from the upper windows enhances the perception of volume and color, a common objective of the Late Baroque, which sought to blur the lines between real and imagined space.
This work exemplifies the advancement of mural and ornamental arts during the Baroque period, particularly in sacred spaces dedicated to contemplation and worship.
Plaza de Armas Station, Seville
This photograph shows the Plaza de Armas Station in Seville, an exceptional example of 19th-century architecture that blends neo-Mudéjar style with iron architecture.
Built between 1899 and 1901, the station draws inspiration from Islamic art, notably the courtyard of the Mosque of Tangier and the Comares Palace of the Alhambra. This influence is visible in its use of horseshoe arches, stepped battlements, and sebka panels, as well as in its materials: brick and glazed ceramic tiles.
The central section of the station features a large iron structure (30 × 100 metres), enclosing the former platforms and railway tracks beneath an expansive glass wall. This fusion of tradition and industrial innovation is characteristic of the iron architecture of the era, designed to meet the demands of modern society and transportation infrastructure.
Plaza de Armas reflects both the influence of Romantic historicism, which valued Andalusia’s Islamic past, and the functional spirit of the Industrial Revolution, positioning it at a pivotal moment of transition between tradition and modernity.
Plaza de España by Aníbal González, Seville
This photograph presents the Plaza de España in Seville, one of Andalusia’s most iconic works of 20th-century regionalist architecture. It was designed by Aníbal González and constructed between 1914 and 1929 for the Ibero-American Exhibition of 1929.
The square features a monumental semicircular layout, symbolizing Spain’s embrace of its former colonies. It includes a central pond with bridges and a gallery supported by paired marble columns and semicircular arches. The towers at each end and the arcade behind the gallery lend the space a majestic and balanced appearance.
The building harmoniously combines classical, Mudéjar, and popular Andalusian elements, utilizing brick, tiles, and ceramics as its primary materials. Beneath the gallery, ceramic benches depict the provinces of Spain, while busts of historical figures adorn the spandrels of the arches.
The Plaza de España is a unique instance of eclectic historicism, merging national identity, decorative richness, and functionality. It represents a high point in the use of architecture as a cultural and political statement in early 20th-century Spain.
Interior of the Cathedral of Seville (with restoration)
This photograph shows the interior of the Cathedral of Seville, one of the world’s largest Gothic cathedrals and a symbol of the city’s religious and artistic identity. Built between the 15th and 16th centuries, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
The original structure is in the late Gothic style, featuring a Latin cross plan, five naves, ribbed vaults, and immense verticality. Renaissance and Baroque periods introduced elements like chapels and altarpieces. However, in the 19th century, the building underwent significant restorations, particularly after the southwest pillar of the transept collapsed in 1888 due to an earthquake.
Architect Adolfo Fernández Casanova oversaw the works, adhering to the principles of stylistic restoration influenced by Viollet-le-Duc. Damaged vaults and pillars were meticulously rebuilt to match the original style, and sections of the neo-Gothic north and south façades were completed.
This restoration reflects the interventionist tendencies of the 19th century, which prioritized returning monuments to an idealized state of stylistic unity, often at the expense of historical layers. The cathedral’s interior today is a product of both medieval construction and centuries of reinterpretations and restorations.
Giralda (with restoration)
This photograph features the Giralda, the bell tower of Seville Cathedral and a prominent symbol of the city. Originally constructed as the minaret of the Almohad mosque in the 12th century, it was converted into a bell tower after the Christian conquest.
The lower two-thirds of the tower date from the Islamic period, characterized by sebka panels, brickwork, and an internal ramp system. The Renaissance upper section was added by Hernán Ruiz II in the 16th century, topped by the famous bronze statue known as the Giralda, which gives the tower its name.
In the 19th century, the Giralda underwent a restoration directed by Adolfo Fernández Casanova. Following the tenets of stylistic restoration, he aimed to recover its supposed original Almohad appearance by removing mural paintings. In doing so, he also eliminated original reddish polychromy. He also replaced some capitals and even considered removing the Renaissance balustrades, though this was not implemented.
The Giralda exemplifies the complexities of restoration: the conflict between historical accuracy and stylistic idealization, and the risks of losing authenticity when imposing a rigid restoration philosophy.
Patio de los Leones, Alhambra (with restoration)
This photograph showcases the Patio de los Leones, one of the most celebrated spaces within the Nasrid Palaces of the Alhambra in Granada, built in the 14th century during the reign of Muhammad V. It is a masterpiece of Islamic art in Spain, symbolizing paradise through its layout and intricate decoration.
The courtyard features a central fountain supported by twelve lions, surrounded by arcaded galleries with slender columns and elaborately carved stucco decoration featuring vegetal and epigraphic motifs. It embodies the Nasrid synthesis of architecture, water, and ornamentation as a reflection of divine order and royal authority.
In the 19th century, during the Romantic rediscovery of the Alhambra, the space underwent stylistic restorations by the Contreras family. Rafael Contreras, in particular, replaced much of the original plasterwork and added a glazed-tile dome over the eastern pavilion. Some restorations involved false reconstructions and uniform patinas to mask new interventions, regrettably leading to the loss of original polychromies.
Later, under the direction of Leopoldo Torres Balbás, the approach shifted to scientific restoration, prioritizing historical and material authenticity by reducing arbitrary additions.
The Patio de los Leones serves as a prime example of the evolution of restoration theory, moving from ornamental recreation to rigorous conservation practices.