Spanish art and architecture

Early Works

Aside from important prehistoric remains, including cave paintings at Altamira and at Cogul, near Lleida (see Paleolithic art), the earliest monuments date from the Roman occupation (3d cent. B.C.–5th cent. A.D.). Little remains of the works of the Visigothic period (6th–7th cent.), although crude classical motifs were used, especially in the decorative sculpture. Such Visigothic monuments as the Church of San Juan de Baños in the province of Palencia (A.D. 661) suggest a possible Middle Eastern influence in the use of a flattened horseshoe arch.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.