Nationalism Studies between Methodological Nationalism and Orientalism: An Alternative Approach Illustrated with the Case of El Greco in Toledo, Spain

Methodological nationalism is still dominant in nationalism studies. When studying the construction of national identities, scholars generally limit their study to the borders of one nation-state, while only paying attention to members of that particular nation. Implicitly, foreign actors and influences are left out of the picture. I will challenge this methodological nationalism with a case study, which demonstrates that the place of Toledo within the Spanish national imagination, and more particularly that of El Greco, the most important representative of the city's artistic heritage, was largely determined by foreigners. During the nineteenth century, El Greco was rediscovered primarily by foreign scholars and artists. Moreover, it would be the rise of international tourism in the early twentieth century that convinced Toledans to adopt El Greco as the city's main artistic icon. This case, thus, clearly shows that in nationalism studies methodological nationalism can be avoided by also including foreign actors

Santiago Rusiñol, Ignacio Zuloaga y el redescubrimiento del Greco. Pintor del alma o precursor del arte moderno?

Political Culture and National Identit

El 98 y el pensamiento político. Una perspectiva europea

Niet Leids onderzoek van medewerkers FG

Un decadente descubre al Greco. Santiago Rusiñol y la modernización de la vida cultural en Cataluña

Political Culture and National Identit

When Did Nationalism Become Banal? The Nationalization of the Domestic Sphere in Spain

Political Culture and National Identit

Ausstellungen als Schaufenster der regionalen und lokalen Identität. EinigeTransnationale Überlegungen

Political Culture and National Identit

Regionalismo y arquitectura en España, 1900-1930. Contexto cultural, ideología y logros concretos

An overview of the ideological development of architectural regionalism in Spain between the late nineteenth century and the 1930sPolitical Culture and National Identit

El tercer centenario del Don Quijote en 1905 y el nacionalismo español

Niet Leids onderzoek van medewerkers FG

Costa, Joaquín

Political Culture and National Identit