The Byron of Andalucía: 190 years since the birth of Bécquer

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Seville-born poet and writer, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, is considered the founder of modern Spanish lyricism

Alekk M. Saanders

Seville

Monday, 2 March 2026, 11:58

The renowned Spanish Romantic poet Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer was born in Seville on 17 February 1836. His surname indicates his German roots. (Bécquer or Bécker was and remains a fairly common surname in Germany and Flanders). Historians believe that his ancestors, who were Catholics, moved to Seville from the German city of Moers, which was the subject of fierce disputes during the Eighty Years' War.

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer was directly and indirectly influenced by Cervantes, Shakespeare, Goethe, Heinrich Heine and, especially, Lord Byron

At the age of ten, Gustavo Adolfo began studying at the San Telmo Naval College in Seville. At the age of 18, Becker was published in the Seville magazines La Aurora and El Porvenir. In the same year, the young man moved to Madrid to continue his literary career. In the capital, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer subsequently worked mainly as a journalist and is reported to have led a fairly obscure and difficult life until he died of tuberculosis at the age of 34.

Much in common

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer was directly and indirectly influenced by Cervantes, Shakespeare, Goethe, Heinrich Heine and, especially, Lord Byron. Nowadays, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer and Lord Byron are considered the quintessence of the Romantic movement and share profound Romantic similarities, primarily due to their focus on themes of melancholy, love, and the supernatural.

Centuries later, Byron and Bécquer became known to the modern younger generation as ambassadors and symbols of the clothing brand

Despite the generation gap, they cultivated a sensibility focused on passionate, often tragic emotions and a rebellious, introspective spirit. The authors intensively explored the theme of turbulent and often unrequited love, intertwined with themes of death and the afterlife. For example, Bécquer's collection of post-Romantic stories, Leyendas (Legends), has the same fairy-tale and often dark-medieval atmosphere as Byron's works.

Together in a brand

Both poets embody the emotional and passionate ideal of European literary romanticism which is synonymous with creativity, virtue and craftsmanship... according to the founders of the contemporary Spanish clothing company, who sought to create a style that transcends time.

They were so inspired by the Romantic era that they decided to launch a brand in honour of these poets and even name it after them. Thus, centuries later, Byron and Bécquer became known to the modern younger generation as ambassadors and symbols of the clothing brand.

The textile company has published a unique book, which brings together for the first time the best works of two of the greatest poets of Romanticism

On the company's website, Lord Byron and Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer are presented as two authors with extraordinary talent and lives full of parallels. The textile company has published a unique book, which brings together for the first time the best works of two of the greatest poets of Romanticism. The book Byron-Becquer in Spanish is available for purchase online.