Santa Maria Major
1935
20th century
8 in. x 5 3/8 in. (20.32 cm x 13.65 cm)
John Taylor Arms,
American,
(1887–1953)
Object Type:
Prints
Creation Place:
North America, United States
Medium and Support:
Etching on paper
Credit Line:
via American College Society of Print Collectors (1930-42)
Accession Number:
1997.050
John Taylor Arms was one of the foremost etchers of the early twentieth century. An architect by training, Arms taught himself to etch using Maxime Lalanne’s guide, "Traite de la gravure a l’eau-forte," and the etching kit presented as a Christmas gift by his wife. Arms initially created images of New York and then turned to Europe for inspiration. Spain was seen as an exceptionally colorful foreign country with a venerable past. Santa Maria Major, depicting a church in Ronda in the south of Spain, embodies Arms’s meticulous love of detail. Santa Maria Major was constructed in a version of the Gothic style, which Arms highlights with the straight ahead viewpoint emphasizing the elaborate clock tower, the most Gothic feature of the building.