La Ilustración artística en el País Vasco. La Real Sociedad Bascongada de Amigos del País y de las Artes

Abstract

The second half of the 18 th century constitutes a particularly attractive period in the history of art. This conference concentrates on the academic activity carried out in the field of arts by the Real Sociedad Bascongada de Amigos del País (Royal Basque Society of Friends of the Country). Frequent mention has been made of Neo-classical art in the Basque Country as a normative art, which is subjected to strict rules and that comes from the capital of the country. The setting up of drawing schools is the starting point in this speech, and then an analysis is made of the different commissions, harangues, sentences, praises, reflections, trials, translations and other writings that we have found on world of art within the Society. We shall then speak about the participation in the Bascongada of men like Justo Antonio de Olaguibel, Eugenio LLaguno, Martín Saracibar and Pedro Manuel de Ugartemendia, whose relation with the world of art is especially meaningful at this time.