Alhambra

Video Transcription

[CHIME] Hello, and welcome to this lesson on art history. My name is Aleisha. And today, we will be talking about the architecture of the Alhambra. Here's what you need to know. Objective-- to identify the characteristics of the architecture of the Alhambra. Here are some key terms to keep an eye out for-- mirador, muqarnas, and Ibn Zamrak.

Islamic Spain. Over the course of the 8th century, much of the country we know today as Spain was taken over by Arab armies under the orders of the Umayyad Caliphate, a Muslim empire which rose to power after the death of the prophet Muhammad. They established the caliphate of Cordoba, and this became an important Muslim area between the 8th and 11th centuries. Toward the beginning of the 11th century, Berber warriors from North Africa took over much of the territory of the caliphate, and they became the ruling power.

The Berbers too could not hold on to Spain forever, and beginning of the year 1236, Spanish armies began to reclaim the territories for Christian Europe. The Christians gained control of most of the Iberian Peninsula, pushing the Islamic powers down toward the south of Spain. The dynasty of the Nasrids held onto Granada, where they built their capital and ruled the remaining Muslim territories from there, until 1492, when they were finally pushed out by the Christians.

In keeping with its position as the last Muslim stronghold in Spain, the Nasrids constructed a vast fortress palace on a rocky outcrop. This complex was called Alhambra from the Arab word for red, as the stone used for the construction of the buildings has a rosy tint. In this exterior, view you can see just how massive and complex the entire structure is. It truly does look like a fortress on a hill.

Inside the walls, however, the buildings were decorated in the manner of many other pieces of Islamic architecture. Of the original six or so royal residences within the complex, only two survive more or less intact. The best preserved of these is the Palace of the Lions, named for the fountain in this image, which consists of several marble lions holding a water basin on their backs. This fountain is present in the Court of the Lions, within the Palace of the Lions.

The sculpture was very unusual in Islamic art, because Islamic art did not tend to portray animal figures without a direct utilitarian purpose. And it was even rarer to create freestanding sculpture. This fountain, therefore, serves as a unique example of sculpture, which was both animal in form and freestanding, and it provides an interesting insight into the style of art which developed in Islamic Spain.

In this image here of the mirador overlooking the Court of the Lions, you can see a blend of Spanish architecture with Islamic decoration. The opening itself is called the mirador. A mirador in Spanish is an architectural term-- a balcony built on an upper floor to assist with an open view. This particular mirador looks out onto the Court of the Lions, and on the inside, it is elaborately decorated with an Arabesque pattern of repetitive geometric designs. It is an excellent example of the type of decoration which would have filled the entire palace complex.

In the same Palace of the Lions is an area called the Hall of the Abencerrajes. You can see in this image here that the vaulted dome is an elaborate and unique construction. The room itself is square, capped with squinches or arches that form an octagonal drum. There are eight windows at this level, which act as a clear story to let in light, and this light illuminates the interesting and unique features of this dome, its decorations with muqarnas.

Muqarnas-- an Islamic or Persian architecture or type of corbel decorative projecting element. In the dome, the muqarnas take the form of stalactite-type shapes, which hang from the ceiling in a total quantity of about 5,000. The muqarnas were intended to catch and reflect the light of the sun, giving the dome a flickering quality during the day.

Like most architectural domes from this period, the vault was intended to symbolize the dome of heaven, even though it was present in a palace, not a mosque. This was emphasized by the star-like shape of the dome, as well as the verses of poetry inscribed on these and other walls in the palace by the poet Ibn Zamrak. Ibn Zamrak, famous poet and statesman for Granada Al-Andalus, his narratives of his writings decorate fountains, i.e. the Fountain of the Lions, and palaces.

When describing the muqarnas in the domes, Ibn Zamrak compared them to heavenly spheres, further forging this link between dome and heaven. The idea was that viewing this dome would remind the spectator that both religious and secular power were held by a single ruler in the caliphate. In this way, architecture is used to reinforce both religious and political messages.

So what did we learn today? We learned to identify the characteristics of architecture at Alhambra, especially the use of muqarnas and miradors. Thank you for joining me for this lesson in art history. I'm Aleisha, reminding you to discover art in the world around you.