Neoclassicism - Spain

The Neoclassical style reached Spain during the reign of Charles III (reigned 1759 - 1788) and continued during that of Charles IV (reigned 1788 - 1802) in a composite version derived from Italy, France and England. A recognisable Spanish flavour nevertheless emerged.
Matias Gasparini, a Neapolitan, became director of the royal workshops at Madrid in 1768, after which date handmade furniture such as commodes of both curvilinear (sarcophagus-shape) and rectilinear (break-front) types are decorated with marquetry in the Milanese manner, often with profiles of Roman emperors on their fronts, or with painting of grotesque masks, figures and wreaths in the 'Pompeiian' style of Naples.
Another favourite form of embellishment was the countersinking of small pieces of mirror glass. Mahogany pieces were seldom left plain, but decorated with marquetry on rectangular or diamond-shaped panels.

There was a great demand for non fitted furniture such as small tables suitable for writing, gaming or taking refreshment. These stood on square tapered legs, their surfaces being covered in marquetry. Where bronze mounts would be used on a French equivalent - as at the tops of the legs - on Spanish examples they are simulated in marquetry.
Chairs with open backs, also standing on square tapered legs, show English influence, while others are of the French en gondole type, derived from ancient Greek originals, in which the backs are composed of panels, rounded laterally to receive the human frame in comfort and painted or inlaid with Neoclassical motifs. The proportions of Spanish chairs are often strikingly exaggerated: very narrow, lyre-shaped backs are perched over very large, round seats which rest on turned tapered legs.
A complex result emerged from Spanish interpretations of Neapolitan adaptations of basically English types, as in the case of chair backs composed of interlaced geometric patterns. These were usually painted and 'parcel gilt' - i.e. details of turning and carving were picked out in gold leaf.

Beds became structurally simpler, the tester being dispensed with entirely and the headboard taking on a new importance with painted decoration, often lavish, in the Pompeiian style.

Peasant furniture was little affected  by these fashionable developments, although there was more of it, at least during the earlier years of this period, thanks to social reforms carried out by Charles III. This improvement was largely nullified by Charles IV.