The Real Sitio, or Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo del Escorial, is, as we have seen, a great combination of fabrics, consisting of a convent, a seminary, a palace, a church, and a panteon. It is therefore scarcely correct to speak of the structure as the ‘Palace of the Escorial,’ for the royal apartments form but a part of the building.
San Lorenzo, to whom Philip II. dedicated the mighty monument, was by birth an Aragonese from the town of Huesca. It is not necessary here to relate his history. His cruel martyrdom occurred in the time of Valentianus, A.D. 261, and it was upon the feast day of the saint that Spain gained the great victory over the French at St. Quintin in Picardy.
A chronicler of the period of Philip II. has declared that: ‘It is impossible to properly describe the grace, the ornaments, the grandeur, and the majestic harmony, that one remarks in{23} this entire edifice.... To write a description of it is an impossible task for me, whilst I could never tire of admiring it; for the rest, this is what always happens when one tries to describe architecture and the arts.’
This limitation in adequate expression is one of the penalties of such a task as the present work. The mere detailing of all parts of the Escorial would be very laborious and beyond the limit of present space, and the result might prove quite uninteresting to the non-technical reader, and possibly of no great service to the visitor. There are, however, certain conventional methods of description which can be scarcely avoided in an account which aims at conciseness and accuracy.
Let us then begin by stating that the Western or Principal Frontage is 744 feet long and 72 feet high, and that the towers at either end are 200 feet in height. The chief entrance is in the centre of the façade, and it is known as the Portico Principal del Monasterio. Supporting the cornice are eight Doric columns, and a door, 20 feet high and 12 feet wide, is placed between the central columns. The door is white, with huge copper-gilt studs and knockers. Surrounding the door are the enormous blocks of stone, which were carried here{24} upon specially constructed wains, drawn by forty-eight pairs of oxen. The panels on each side of the doorway are decorated with gridirons in relief, as symbols of the martyrdom of San Lorenzo.
Monegro’s figure of San Lorenzo, huge, and carved in stone, stands above the door. The head and the hands are of Andalusian marble. Monegro is said to have asked the sum of 20,900 reales for carving this effigy, and other 7700 reales for the arms of Spain carved below the statue.
Of the other doors, one leads to the cellars, the lower cloisters, and the kitchens, and the other to the Colegio. Their character is simple, and they are constructed of large blocks of stone, after the plan of the chief entrance.
The Vestibule is about 80 feet wide, and leads into the Patio de los Reyes, or Court of the Kings. To the right of the Vestibule are the Libraries, the Refectory, and the Convent, and on the left is the College. The walls of the Patio are decorated with pilasters, and there are many fine windows to the apartments. Six statues of the Reyes de Judea stand in the Court, the work of Monegro, who used granite for the bodies and marble for the head and hands, as in the case of the effigy of San Lorenzo, above the main gateway.{25}
The statues represent Jehosaphat, Hezekiah, David, Solomon, Josiah, and Manasseh, but they are not works of the highest order. The first king has a chopper, and there are a ram and loaves of bread by his side; while the second has also a ram, and in his hand a large incense box. David is appropriately supplied with a harp and a sword, and the symbol of Solomon is a volume. Josiah also holds a book, and Manasseh a compass and square. These Kings of Israel are chosen because they each directed the work of building and beautifying the Temple.
The general plan of the Escorial is a parallelogram of 3000 feet in circumference and 500,000 square feet. This massive pile is everywhere severely uniform, though its rigidity is relieved by the towers of the Monastery, the charming gardens of the palace with their fine arches, and by the spires and doorways. The granite employed in the building is of a light colour, and is, for the most part, highly polished. There are four façades. We have inspected the western or principal frontage, and we may now pay some attention to the east front, which bears points of resemblance to that of the south.
One curious feature of the eastern façade is the celebrated staircase, described by Don Antonio{26} Rotondo as one of the most curious pieces of architecture in the whole edifice. The doorway leading to the gardens was originally intended as an arcade, and it is a noteworthy example of architectural skill. The appearance of the east front is marred by the unattractive exterior of the Capilla. On the north side is the chief approach to the palace, and here is the small door by which the royal tenants entered their apartments up to the time of Charles IV.
The finest external aspect of the Escorial is on the southern side. It is simple and bold, and from it is gained one of the most interesting views of the pleasure-grounds below. The first stone of the edifice was laid here. A gallery on this side was used for convalescents from the Infirmary, being sheltered from the rays of the sun, and here the monks, who were recovering from illness, took gentle exercise in the open air. There are two corridors, or promenades, each about 100 feet in length, one above the other, and supported by arches. Some of the decorative work here is by Juan de Mora.
The impression conveyed by the Escorial at first sight is that of its colossal proportions, while one’s second impression is of austerity and uniformity in design. Henry O’Shea is right in{27} saying, in his Guide to Spain and Portugal, that ‘to understand the Escorial it is necessary to have studied deeply and most impartially the character and genius of its founder; for this is not a monument which is the expression of an age or a people, but bears the stamp of a man of a special train of thought and feeling.’ O’Shea states that ‘the Monastery of the Escorial is the key to Philip’s character, never, as yet, perfectly understood by historians.’ Carl Justi, in a somewhat severe criticism of ‘the rigid geometrical design’ of the building, says that it ‘looks at us with petrifying effect,’ though he admits that the harmony of the pile with its surrounding landscape gives it a peculiar beauty.
Some of the older writers upon the Royal Monastery of Philip II. fervently praise the majesty of the great monument. The Countess D’Aulnoy, in her Letters from Spain, in 1679, wrote that the apartments of the king and queen at the Escorial were not stately, and that Philip, when he founded the building, intended it for a house of prayer and retirement, ‘the things he took most care to adorn’ being the Church and the Library. In the words of George Thompson, translator of Frey Francisco de los Santos’s work upon the Royal Palace of the Escorial, the edifice is ‘an{28} astonishing work, in which the most prudent monarch Philip the Second offered to God a heaven on earth; to the illustrious Spanish martyr St. Lawrence a temple of divine magnificence, to his ancestors, a Christian mausoleum; to the Hieronymite recluses an august habitation; and to the world a structure which it can never sufficiently admire.’
In the eyes of the Spanish subjects of Philip, the Real Monasterio, or Real Sitio (Royal Residence), constituted the ‘eighth wonder of the world.’ Such a magnificent palace had not been seen in Spain since the palmy days of the Moorish potentates of Granada and Cordova. In no sense, however, could the Escorial be likened to the buildings of Morisco genius. It was eminently Christian in its conception and plan, and in its dedication to San Lorenzo, the martyr of the gridiron. The style was late Renaissance, uninfluenced by the ancient Oriental spirit, and owing its inspiration chiefly to the Doric designers, though the Gothic influence is of France.
If the exterior of the Escorial suggests in turn a sombre fortress, a mournful and gaunt hermitage, or a forbidding prison, it still impresses us as a very remarkable work of architecture. One must not look for the richly ornate, the flam{29}boyant, and that prodigality of decoration which characterise many of the later public buildings of Spain. Huge, marked with the personality of the founder, menacing, and yet not without the nobility of plainness, the great creation of Philip II. is beyond doubt one of the world’s greatest edifices. To some observers it has brought a vague sense of depression when viewed upon a grey day amid its bleak surroundings; but the atmosphere of the place is far from unimpressive, for it is pregnant with memories, and vivid with dramatic passages in the lives of kings and their queens, courtiers, artists, friars, and the long train of inmates who lived within the stern granite walls. Moreover, as a museum, the Escorial is of supreme interest. It contains a wealth of wonderful works of art, and a superb library of costly books and old manuscripts.
The galleries, courts, and gardens of the building undoubtedly soften the aspect of the walls and the solemn towers. Flowers adorn the terraces: there are pleasant seats and niches, with shady walks between high box-hedges and splashing fountains. From the Lonja (the terraces) one looks upon varied vistas of the plain, the frowning mountains, the quaint flower-gardens, the ponds, and the wooded slopes, where{30} there are English elms and beautiful chestnut-trees.
In the surrounding demesne, there are several points of interest. One of these is the ‘King’s Chair,’ among the rocks, where Philip sat to view the building of the monastery. We may also wander to the ‘Queen’s Belvedere,’ or climb the boulders of Castejon.
Not content with the vast accommodation of the Escorial, Philip caused certain small houses, or places of retreat, to be built in the vicinity. One of these, called La Granjilla, was surrounded by exquisite gardens, which were adorned with many fountains. The streams and tanks provided fish for the royal table. Another lodge was the Campillo, which the king erected in a magnificent and lonely situation among the hills. This house was afterwards altered by Philip IV.