Herrera style

Herrera style ( Spanish : Estilo Herreriano , Herrerianismo or also called Desornamentado style ) is the name for a Spanish architectural style of the late renaissance in the time of the Counter Reformation (approx. 1560-1620). It is named after the master builder Juan de Herrera , who between 1572 and 1584 directed the construction work on the extremely strict palace and monastery complex of the Escorial , which was co-designed by Philip II .

Characteristics

Dominican monastery in Caleruega (16th century, architect unknown)

The Herrerianismo is a strict and ornamentless style, in which the architecture of the mendicant orders ( Franciscans , Dominicans ) could have been the godfather. The structure and the outer and inner walls are largely free of curvilinear lines; Horizontal cornices , vertical wall supports such as pilaster strips and pilasters or the highlighting of individual components with central or corner projections are largely avoided. Even windows and doors are often not framed, or only framed extremely cautiously - they look like they have been cut into the wall; there are also no balconies or balustrades . However, this extreme conception of style has only been strictly adhered to in a few buildings (e.g. the Escorial or the Palacio Ducal de Lerma ); elsewhere, individual structural elements appear, but overall the style - in clear contrast to the previous, sometimes even simultaneous Plateresque style (plateresco) - remains largely ornament-free and unadorned. Architects and architectural historians also speak of a “pure style”.