Madrid and Toledo
Located halfway along the route from Biscay to Andalucía, the capital of Spain became part of the travellers’ experience of Spain. Founded as ‘Mayrit’ under Umayyad rule in the ninth century, Madrid gained prominence as a political and cultural centre under King Philip II, who established his court there in 1561. In the late eighteenth century, an extensive programme of urban reforms led to the widening of streets and the construction of elegant promenades, monumental fountains, and both palatial and public buildings. By 1779, British audiences learnt from Swinburne’s Travels Through Spain, in the Years 1775 and 1776 that ‘the appearance of Madrid is grand and lively; noble streets, good houses, and excellent pavement, as clean as it once was dirty’ (p. 326). Artist-travellers in the early nineteenth century enjoyed watching ordinary Spaniards in the Puerta del Sol and the Paseo del Prado, or observing gatherings on the banks of the River Manzanares during the celebrations of San Isidro in May. In the Prado Museum, which opened in 1819, travellers greatly admired Spain’s royal collections, and the artist John F. Lewis even made copies of paintings by Spain’s Baroque masters Velázquez and Murillo.
From Madrid, some travellers ventured to Toledo, the medieval capital of the region. Richard Ford devoted more than twenty pages to the city’s rich heritage in his Hand-Book for Travellers in Spain and Readers at Home (1845). For British artist-travellers the encounter with Toledo was, however, fleeting in comparison with Villaamil’s proud engagement with the city and surroundings. As a Spaniard, he celebrated Toledo in over forty prints, responding to its spectacular location and the region’s rich architectural heritage which records the influences of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities.
Romería de S. Isidro del Campo en Madrid
Louis-Julien Jacottet and Adolphe Jean-Baptiste Bayot, 1842.
Barry Ife Collection.
Plate 12 from Genaro Pérez Villaamil and Patricio de la Escosura. España artística y monumental. Three volumes. Paris: A Hauser, 1842-50. Volume 1
Read the commentary
La Puerta del Sol, Madrid
John Frederick Lewis, 1836.
Barry Ife Collection.
Plate 6 from John Frederick Lewis, Sketches of Spain and Spanish character made during his tour in that country in the years 1833-4. London: F G Moon and John F Lewis, [1836]
Read the commentary
Bridge of Toledo, Madrid
Thomas Shotter Boys, 1837.
Barry Ife Collection.
Plate 20 from David Roberts, Picturesque sketches in Spain taken during the years 1832 & 1833. London: Hodgson & Graves, 1837
Read the commentary
Torre de Santa María de Illescas
Louis-Jules Arnout, 1844.
Barry Ife Collection.
Plate 58 from Genaro Pérez Villaamil and Patricio de la Escosura. España artística y monumental.Three volumes. Paris: A Hauser, 1842-50. Volume 2
Read the commentary
Toledo, vista desde el Castillo de San Servando
Richard Ford, After 1833.
Ford Family Collection.
Read the commentary
Toledo, Puente de Alcántara y Castillo de San Servando
Richard Ford, After 1833.
Ford Family Collection.
Read the commentary
Puerta del Hospital de Santa Cruz en Toledo
Félix Benoist, 1844.
Barry Ife Collection.
Plate 83 from Genaro Pérez Villaamil and Patricio de la Escosura. España artística y monumental. Three volumes. Paris: A Hauser, 1842-50. Volume 2
Read the commentary
Parroquia de San Román en Toledo
Auguste Mathieu and Adolphe Jean-Baptiste Bayot, 1850.
Barry Ife Collection.
Plate 108 from Genaro Pérez Villaamil and Patricio de la Escosura, España artística y monumental. Three volumes. Paris: A Hauser, 1842-50. Volume 3
Read the commentary
Primera Sinagoga de Toledo, hoy Santa María la Blanca
Louis Julien Jacotet and Adolphe Jean-Baptiste Bayot, 1842.
Barry Ife Collection.
Plate 29 from Genaro Pérez Villaamil and Patricio de la Escosura. España artística y monumental.Three volumes. Paris: A Hauser, 1842-50. Volume 1
Read the commentary![Toledo. Sala Capitular [Chapter House]](https://staging.zc-exhibitions.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/4.11-Lewis-Toledo-Chapterhouse-1-scaled.jpeg)
Toledo. Sala Capitular [Chapter House]
John Frederick Lewis, 1836.
Barry Ife Collection.
Plate 24 from John Frederick Lewis, Sketches of Spain and Spanish character made during his tour in that country in the years 1833-4. London: F G Moon and John F Lewis, [1836]
Read the commentary