On Wednesday, 26 November, 500 years ago, Queen Isabella I of Castile died at the age of 54. The thirty years of her reign (1474-1504) saw the conquest of Granada, the establishment of law and order in Castile and Aragon, the founding of the Inquisition, and the “discovery” of new worlds which was to impact so profoundly upon Spanish society and culture in the following 500 years.
As patrons of the arts, Ferdinand and Isabella presided over a period of extraordinary creativity that witnessed the arts being harnessed as a powerful tool of propaganda and image building.
The Catholic Monarchs became masters of communicating their political agenda through a vast army of architects, sculptors, painters, decorative artists and artisans who were capable of translating their ideas into magnificent works of art whose significance and importance speak to us today with a surprising directness and clarity.
No one who has contemplated their tombs in the Royal Chapel in Granada, or who has wondered at the shields and coats of arms decorating the transept of the monastery church of San Juan de los Reyes in Toledo, could doubt the sheer persuasive power of these impressive monuments. |
|
|
|