plateresque

[plat-uh-resk]

adjective

(sometimes initial capital letter)

1. noting or pertaining to a 16th-century style of Spanish architecture characterized by profuse applications of delicate low-relief Renaissance ornament to isolated parts of building exteriors.

Word History and Origins

Origin of plateresque¹

1835–45; < Spanish plateresco, equivalent to plater ( o ) silversmith ( plat ( a ) silver; platina + -ero < Latin -ārius -ary ) + -esco -esque; so called because the heavy ornamentation of the style suggested decorated silverwork

Example Sentences

The intricate stonework is a great example of Spain’s Plateresque style, represented by delicate, detail-packed, filigree-like carvings.

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But even this greatest Christian spot in Granada, with its lacy filigree style known as Plateresque for the influence of Moorish silverwork, shines with the artistic legacy of the Moors.

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In the city itself are some ancient remains, such as a temple of Mars, and the fluted columns of a temple of Diana built into a medi�val house, which, by the way, has a lovely Plateresque window, but most of the ruins lie completely outside the present town.

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This short period is called Plateresque, from platero, silversmith, for its elaborate surface decoration of scrolls, medallions, and heraldic ornament is sublimated smith's work.

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As it and Salamanca were the two places where the silversmith's art flourished, so they are the two centers for the best Plateresque buildings.

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