Al Andalus Islamic Art From 711 1492 CE

Al Andalus: Islamic Art

• From 711 -1492 CE, most of modern day Spain and Portugal (known as Al-Andalus to inhabitants) was under Muslim or Morrish control • Christian and Jews were welcome to coexist with Muslims (with restrictions) • Cultural diffusion that resulted is regarded as one of the great heights of civilization where libraries, colleges and public baths were created literature, poetry and architecture flourished

• Artistic tradition of Islamic Spain had a prescribed aesthetic influenced by conquered regions (Roman, tribal, Byzantine, and West Asian styles) • Use of Arabic calligraphy was the preferred ornamentation • Use of animals and people were discouraged due to religious beliefs • Use of complex geometric or vegetal inspired patterns were common • Symmetry and mathematical order were aesthetic qualities linked to religion

Great Mosque of Cordoba, Spain, Umayyad, 785 -786, Stone masonry

• Cordoba was the cultural capital of the region • Greek and Roman manuscripts were studied and kept safe while the rest of Europe ignored or burned them • The Great Mosque was built on a site of a Roman temple that had been converted into a church and then a mosque • The entire structure was rebuilt and was expanded over 200 years

• Builders incorporated ancient Roman columns when creating athe two tiered symmetrical arches. • They are a distinctive feature of the hypostyle prayer hall

Hypostyle Hall

• Horseshoe arches were a common feature of structures of the region built by previous rulers, the Visigoths • Became a common feature of North African Islamic architecture • The building paln also included a courtyard with a fountain, an orange grove and a covered walkway circling the courtyard

• Today, the once mosque is a Roman Catholic Church and the original minaret is encased in a bell tower • The use of crisscrossing ribs that make up the dome over the Mihrab are the precursor to the Gothic rib vaulting of Western Europe

detail

Floor plan

Pyxis of Al-Mughira, Umayyad, 968. Ivory.

• This cylindrical box with a lid (known as a Pyxis) was produced by a well known workshop called Madinat al-Zahra • It was most likely a coming of age present from supporters to then 18 year old al-Mughira, the brother of the Caliph (ruler), Abd al Rahman III, who did not have an heir to the throne • Considered on of the most magnificent ivory carvings ever produced and is part of a tradition of courtly luxury crafts

• The pyxis contain a mix of princely iconography moralizing imagery, symbolism alluding to sovereignty, and imagery alluding to punishment • Scholars believe it was either an invitation to seize power by high officials of the court or a warning of punishment from supporters of the true line of succession • A pyxis like many of the small ivory containers produced at the time, is meant to be held and studied at close range • 8 years after the creation of this gift, the owner was put to death when his brother, the caliph, died

Golden Haggadah, Plaques of Egypt. Late Medieval Spain, illuminated manuscript (pigments on vellum)

• This illustrated manuscript was made for use by a wealthy Jewish family residing in Barcelona, Al-Andalus • Jewish and Muslim families resided peacefully next to each other in this region • The book is used exclusively during the holiday of Passover and contains prayers and readings specific to the holiday

• Haggadahs of the time were the most lavishly decorated of all Jewish sacred writings • Wealthy Jewish families of the time often demonstrated their good taste, wealth and piety by commissioning works like this one • The pages are traditional vellum with heavy use of gold leaf backgrounds of the 56 small paintings

Scenes of liberation

• The owner may have been an advisor or physician or financier to the courts of Barcelona and may have become enamored with courtly tastes • Many commissioned Jewish books of the time were done in the European Gothic Style • Hebrew texts were written by Jewish scribes and gave specific instruction to a Christian artists to paint the scenes

• Like most Christian illuminated manuscripts of the period, the clothing and architectural elements in the Jewish codices are in the venacular allowing that readers could connect biblical stories to their own lives • This idea reflects the tradition of personally connecting with the past by imagining oneself as a slave in Egypt, a ritual of Passover

Alhambra Palace, Granada, Spain, 1354 -1391, Whitewashed adobe stucco, wood, tile, paint and gilding

• Alhambra was originally built as a fortress due to increasing conflict with Christian European monarchs and became a palace and a small city

Court of Lions

• The court of lions along with adjoining rooms and upper galleries was the innermost and private courtyard of the palace • A fountain with 12 lions provided water to four strams that broke the courtyard in 4 equal segments with two small fountains at each end of the patio • Water features in Islamic architecture are meant to evoke imagery of oasis pools in the Arabian Desert. • The filigree muqarna (honeycomb) arches above the small fountains are deliberately reminiscent of palm trees that allow light to pass through them creating water like patterns

Hall of two Sisters

• Hall of the Sisters is a two storied hall with walls completely covered in decoration • Like most Islamic architecture, the decorations feature geometric, floral and vegetal patterns

• In 1492, Catholic monarchs Ferdinand Isabella conquered the city of Granada, the palace became a Christian court. • Additional structures were added to the existing structures and Emperor Charles V added another palace to Alhambra