ASTURIAN PRE-ROMANESQUE ART
Welcome to the Asturian Pre-Romanesque Art web site.
Asturian Pre-Romanesque Art
One of the most confusing and little-known chapters of Spanish Art is that which corresponds to the ASturian Pre-Romanesque style, so called because its monuments are located within a reduced geographical radius surrounding the city of Oviedo, in the region of ASturias.
The restricted location of these monuments, off the beaten tourist track, is in fact the reason why they are not so very well known. However, in compensation, their isolation has helped to preserve these historical landmarks in the same natural setting in witch they were initially founded eleven centuries ago. Herein lives one of the principal charms of this architectural style: the possibility of admiring them, without the typical social, urban or formal interferences existing in today's society.
In the artistic panorama of the day, Asturian Art was a surprisingly innovating and original art. It developed in the small Asturian kingdom, the Spanish territory under Christian influence, which was not conquered by the Moors. Pre-Romanesque Asturian art showed no resemblance to the rest of the artistic currents; comparisons might perhaps be found with the contemporary Frankish kingdom under Charlemagne, the prosperity and power of witch had very little in common with the tiny Spanish kingdom.
What most impresses visitors today about the Asturian monuments is their simplicity, sometimes bordering on the rustic, but always boasting elegant lines.
This page was last updated on 04/07/01.