Philip II and El Escorial

Abstract

No building occupies as central a place in the architectural history of Spain than San Lorenzo el Real de El Escorial, and few rulers make for a more compelling historical figure than the monastery-palace’s patron, the Spanish Habsburg king Philip II (b. 1527; r. 1556–1598). Realized from 1563 to 1584/1586 with ongoing decorative programs, the royal monument comprised of a basilica, monastery, palace, library, and college came to symbolize a political dynasty. Later Spanish Habsburg interventions included a Royal Pantheon begun in 1617 and new decorative schemes following a devastating fire in 1671. The history of El Escorial is supported by rich archival holdings, primarily documents but also drawings in addition to beautifully engraved images of the building commissioned by its chief architect, Juan de Herrera (c. 1530–1597). Period documents reveal the deliberative role of Philip II as a patron of the building, which, due to scholarship since the 1990s, can be understood as part of a wider cultural-political effort to establish a worldly court in Madrid with El Escorial serving as its spiritual anchor. Primary sources allow us to reconstruct the process behind the erection of the monastery-palace, thereby contributing valuable information to the history of construction and building technology for the early modern period. Despite Herrera’s considerable contributions, authorship of El Escorial’s design is a question that runs through every vein of scholarship on the monastery-palace. In an exemplary study, Wilkinson-Zerner 1993 (cited under Architects) writes that Philip II’s “love of buildings of all kinds acted like a magnet on engineers and architects, drawing them toward him and inspiring extravagant hopes and projects” (p. 170). Thus, it is no surprise that Philip is often given credit for the design of El Escorial prior to the building’s architects. Cultural exchange has emerged as a special topic with regard to the Spanish Habsburgs, whose kingdoms encompassed places in Iberia, as well as Italy, the Low Countries, the Americas, and even beyond with the annexation of Portugal in 1580. Studies of the art collections at El Escorial comprise works by famous Flemish, Italian, and Spanish artists; the library holdings with books and manuscripts in ancient and modern languages also bear witness to this phenomenon. The last sections of this bibliography explore science and letters at El Escorial and the critical reception of the monastery-palace from the late 16th century to modern times.