Spain has written a brilliant page in the history of European culture, put forward major writers and painters whose works still influence us with their realism and high skill. The end of the XVI and the first half of the XVII century were the heyday of Spanish literature and art. At this time, Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina, Velazquez, Ribera and Zurbaran created their works, a little later than Murillo.