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The completion of the reconquista and Columbus discovering the New World gave rise to the Golden Age. With Columbus's success reaching land, Spain now had the opportunity to assert their colonizing ability.

Diego Velazquez, born on June 6th, 1599 in Seville is one of Spain's most important and influential artists. Velazquez gained the attention of statesmen across Europe for painting portraits in a realist approach with an added element of emotion. He is most famously known for Las Meninas, a work that Velazquez painted himself into.

El Greco (which means “The Greek”) is another artist that must be mentioned in connection with the Siglo de Oro. El Greco lived and studied in Italy around 1568 to 1577 paying close attention to greats like Titian, Tintoretto, and Michelangelo. He eventually settled in Toledo bringing the Italian Renaissance to Spain. Domenikos Theotokopoulos, his birth name, contributed a new style of painting landscapes that would be a model for later European painters. “View of Toledo” remains one of his greatest works.

During the 16th century most, if not all music, was written for the church in hymns, gospels, and other secular pieces. The works of Tomas Luis de Victoria, Francisco Guerrero, and Alonso Lobo broke the traditional mold of music composition in Spain. Their music captured emotions, like ecstasy, longing, joy, and despair

Miguel de Cervantes and Lope de Vega are the two men arguably most responsible for vaulting Spanish literature into the upper stratosphere. Critics frequently mention their names in the same breath and in comparison to English writer, William Shakespeare. Both writers put out satirical works that commented on the church, state, and politics. In fact Cervantes was in prison for tax evasion when he began his celebrated piece, El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha.