The records of Spain in art, as in literature, are so grand, so European, in fact, that it is much if the artists of to-day come within measurable distance of those who have made the glory of their country.  Nevertheless, the modern painters and sculptors of Spain hold their own with those of any country.  After the temporary eclipse which followed the death of Velasquez, Ribera, and Murillo—­the eighteenth century produced no great Spanish painter, if we except Goya, who left no pupils—­Don Jose Madrazo, who studied at the same time as Ingres in the studio of David, began the modern renaissance.  He became Court painter, and left many fine portraits; but, perhaps, as Comte Vasili says, “La meilleure oeuvre de Don Jose fut son fils, Federico; de meme que la meilleure de celui-ci est son fils Raimundo.”

Raimundo Madrazo and Fortuny the elder, who married Cecilia Madrazo, Raimundo’s sister, have always painted in Paris, and have become known to Europe almost as French artists.  Fortuny, by his mariage Espagnol, became the head of the Spanish renaissance.  Unfortunately, he has been widely imitated by artists of all nations, who have not a tithe of his genius, if any.  Pradilla, F. Domingo, Gallegos, the three Beulluire brothers, Bilbao, Gimenez, Aranda, Carbonero, are only a few of the artists whose names are known to all art collectors, and who work in Spain.  Villegas has settled in Rome.  The exhibition of modern Spanish paintings in the London Guildhall last year (1901) was a revelation to many English people, even to artists, of the work that is being done at the present day by Spanish painters, both at home and in Paris and Rome.  In sculpture, also, Spain can boast many artists of the highest class.

The drama in Spain has in all times occupied an important place.  The traditions of the past names, such as Calderon, Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina, Moreto, and others, cannot exactly be said to be kept up, for these are, most of them, of European fame; but in a country where the theatre is the beloved entertainment of all classes, and perhaps especially so of the poor or the working people, there are never wanting dramatists who satisfy the needs of their auditors, and whose works are sometimes translated into foreign languages, if not actually acted on an alien stage.  It would be impossible and useless to give a mere list of the names of modern dramatists, but that of Ayala is perhaps best known abroad, and his work most nearly approaches to that of his great forerunners.  His Consuelo, El tejado de Vidrio, and Tanto por ciento show great power and extraordinary observation.  His style, too, is perfect.  Senor Tamago, who persistently hides his name under the pseudonym of “Joaquin Estebanez,” may also be ranked amongst the leaders of the modern Spanish drama, and his Drama Nuevo is a masterpiece.  Echegaray belongs to the school of the old drama, whose characteristic is that virtue is always rewarded and vice punished.