Herrerian

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Façade of the Monastery of El Escorial

The Herreran (Spanish: Herreriano, Arquitectura herreriana) is a style of Spanish architecture from the period of the Renaissance. It takes its name from its most notable practitioner, Juan de Herrera (1530-1593).

It is characterized by strongly defined lines and a lack of decoration –contemporaries called it the "unadorned style"- that approaches architectural sobriety, somberness, and bareness.

Some examples of this style include the Escorial; the Cathedral of the Assumption in Valladolid; the Lonja (Silk Exchange) of Seville; the convent of Santa Teresa in Ávila; and the Colegio de Nuestra Señora de La Antigua, in Monforte de Lemos. The style spread to the Spanish colonies in America, where it can be found in the cathedrals of Mexico City and Puebla.^[1] The Herrerian was used most successfully in grandiose and monumental projects.