Part 15 (1/2)

In Mr. C. A. Stoddard's account of La Caridad, in _Spanish Cities_, the name of the founder is given wrongly as Manana. Mr. Stoddard writes that Don Miguel desired to be buried at the church door, with the epitaph upon his tomb: 'Here lies the worst man in the world.' Manara was, however, buried in a vault of the church, and in the inscription upon the stone he was lauded as 'the best of men.'

For viewing Murillo's pictures in the Hospital Church of La Caridad, it is best to seek admission in the afternoon. The Charity Hospital is built in the Greco-Romano style from designs by Bernard Simon de Pineda, or Pereda. Visitors should examine the five large _azulejos_ of the exterior, said to have been designed by Murillo, the friend of the founder. The centre is Charity, a woman with a child in each arm and a boy at her side. Other designs represent Santiago slaying Moors, and San Jorge spearing the dragon.

Sir Stirling-Maxwell speaks of the Church of La Caridad as 'one of the most elegant in Seville.' The aisle widens beneath a lofty and ornate dome. One of the chief objects of interest is the famous retablo; but the church is mostly visited by admirers of Murillo. The eleven works of the master, which once adorned the building, were painted in four years.

Soult carried away five of the paintings. Four of them were sold by the French marshal, and one was presented to the Louvre. Mr. Stoddard praises Moses and the Rock as one of the finest pictures of Murillo.

There are three groups in the scene. Water gushes from a dark rock in the centre of the picture, and Moses, with hands folded, offers thanks for the miracle. Behind is Aaron, in an att.i.tude of wors.h.i.+p. The Israelites press forward to quench their thirst. _Le Sed_ (The Thirst) has been reproduced by engraving, and is well known.

The other pictures by Murillo are the Infant Saviour, the Annunciation, and the San Juan de Dios. In the last painting the saint, a.s.sisted by an angel, is bearing a sick man to the hospital. Christ feeding the Five Thousand (_Pan y Peces_) and the Young John the Baptist are large pictures, showing Murillo's broad method.

The curious paintings by Juan Valdes Leal are described in the chapter on 'The Artists of Seville.' They are at the west end of the church.

The court through which one enters the hospital is very handsome, and a good example of the Sevillian _patio_. A Sister of Charity conducts the visitor to the wards and to the council room of the inst.i.tution. The sick and the convalescent recline upon their beds, and there is a hush in the long chambers. The patients are all men. They appear to be well cared for, and the wards are clean and sunny.

In the Plazo de Alfaro, number seven, is the house where tradition states that Murillo lived. From the Plaza de Giralda follow the Calle de Barceguineria, and take the second street on the right hand side, pa.s.sing the Church of Santa Teresa. Turn to the right at the end of the Calle de Santa Teresa. Murillo's house is in a corner of the Plaza de Alfaro. It is now occupied by the Senores Lopez Cepero, two cultured and courteous brothers, the nephews of a greatly respected dean of the Cathedral, who in his day collected a number of fine pictures, and did much to encourage artists in the city.

Don Juan Maria Lopez Cepero speaks English well. I paid three visits to the historic _casa_ that he inhabits, and he told me that his house was open to all lovers of art who desire to see his collection of pictures.

In the chapter on Sevillian artists will be found descriptions of some of the oil paintings in the Casa Murillo.

Don J. Lopez Cepero showed me his beautiful garden, with its Moorish bath, frescoed walls, rose trees and carnations. The _patio_ is planted with palms, and on the walls are pictures. The mural paintings in the garden have been attributed to Luis de Vargas; but they are unfortunately almost obliterated. At the end of a long salon, covered with pictures, is the room wherein Murillo is said to have died on April 3, 1682.

I am indebted to Don Lopez Cepero for the opportunity of seeing his valuable pictures, for the information which he gave me concerning books upon Seville by Spanish authors, and for the permission granted to my collaborator to reproduce some of the paintings in photography. His services to me were most valuable, and I now repeat my thanks for his a.s.sistance.

The University, founded by Alfonso the Learned, is in the Calle de la Universidad. In the rooms are portraits of St. Francis of Borja and of Ignatius Loyola by Alonso Cano, and a picture of a saint by Zurbaran.

The University Church has a notable retablo by Roelas; an Annunciation by Pacheco, and statues of St. Francis of Borja and of Loyola by Montanez. There is a monument to Enriquez de Ribera, and one to his wife Catalina in the nave. The Don was the first owner of the Casa Pilatos, and a benefactor of the city. It was he who founded the excellent Hospital Civil, in 1500, in the Calle de Santiago. The building was reconstructed near the Puerta de la Macarena in 1559.

The Hospital Civil is best reached by the tramway from the Plaza de la Const.i.tucion. It is surrounded by gardens, and has a charming _patio_.

In the church of the hospital there are pictures of saints by Zurbaran, and the Apotheosis of St. Ermenigild and Descent of the Holy Ghost by Roelas.

The most handsome of the Renaissance buildings in Seville is that of the Casa de Ayuntamiento, or City Hall, in the Plaza de la Const.i.tucion. It was designed by Riano in 1526. The ornate carved doors, and the plateresque ornamentations of the masonry are highly decorative, and the marble floors and vaulted ceiling within should be seen. In the Munic.i.p.al Library of the Ayuntamiento is the banner of the city, of the fifteenth century, bearing a figure of San Fernando.

We have not yet visited the Biblioteca Columbina, given to the city by Fernando, son of Christopher Columbus. It is in the Cathedral precincts, and can be entered from the Patio de los Naranjos (the Court of the Oranges). The beautiful illuminated Bible of Alfonso the Learned, by Pedro de Pampeluna, used to be shown here, but it has, I believe, been removed by the Chapter. The Columbus ma.n.u.scripts are here, in gla.s.s cases. There is a copy of the _Tractatus de Imagine Mundi_, with notes by Columbus, and the famous treatise attempting to prove Scriptural prophecies concerning the discovery of the New World. A sword here exhibited is said to be that of Perez de Vargas, used by him in the capture of Seville. I have referred to the ma.n.u.scripts of Christopher Columbus in the historical portion of this book.

Close to the Fabrica de Tabacos is the Palace of San Telmo, the former residence of the Dukes de Montpensier. The building dates from 1734, and it was first used as a naval school. It pa.s.sed into the hands of the Infanta Maria Luisa, widow of the Duke of Montpensier. The _palacio_ has been shorn of its splendour by the removal of most of its works of art.

It is of little interest; but the garden is a beautiful shady retreat, with semi-tropical plants and trees.

There are but few statues in the streets of the city. Velazquez has been honoured by a bronze figure, which stands in the Plaza del Duque de la Victoria. It was cast by Susillo in 1892. The monument to Murillo, in the Plaza del Museo, is also of bronze. It is the work of Sabino Medinia, and the cast was made in Paris in 1864.

Number eleven in the Plaza del Duque de la Victoria is now a large drapery store. It was formerly the splendid palace of the Marquis de Palomares. It is a fine example of a Seville residence.

As we wander from church to palace and alcazar of this ancient and beautiful capital, we are often reminded of the words of Cervantes in _The Two Maiden Ladies_: 'Seville is a city of Spain, of which you cannot fail to have heard frequent mention, considered, as it is, to be one of the wonders of the world.'

[Ill.u.s.tration: Amphora]

CHAPTER XIII

_Seville of To-day_

'To have seen real donas with comb and mantle, real caballeros with cloak and cigar, real Spanish barbers lathering out of bra.s.s basins, and to have heard guitars upon the balconies.'--THACKERAY, _Cornhill to Cairo_.