This first of two volumes, based on the 19th-century publication of Owen Jones plates and text of the "Alhambra", contains 22 chapters with 36 Owen Jones plates and over 200 new figures giving chronological ground plans, elevations and analyses of the architecture, decoration and epigraphy. It provides a general introduction to Nasrid art and architecture, explains the Nasrid proportional system of design, and discusses the early Nasrid palaces and the great city gates. During his research for the book, Professor Fernandez-Puertas has made some discoveries. He has, for example, resolved one of the great enigmas of Nasrid art by discovering the geometric proportional system on which the entire Alhambra architecture and decoration are based. The designs are at times so intricate that they baffle even professional mathematicians. Professor Fernandez-Puertas has cracked the geometric code and discovered that the marvels of the Alhambra are built on a proportional system that is essentially incommensurable and not based on fixed units like metres or inches. This has involved making hundreds of analytical figures, many of which are included in this book. Professor Fernandez-Puertas is also the first to discover the chronological order in which the Alhambra palaces were built. He has collated much fragmentary information in order to reconstruct a picture of court life within the Alhambra and the personalities of its sultans and poet-viziers. The book thus contains the heart of three centuries of Nasrid art, as well as providing a history of the palatine city from the 9th century to the present day: the pre-Nasrid Alhambra, the Nasrid Alhambra and the Christian Alhambra. The book is based on many years of research, and covers 11 centuries of medieval, modern and contemporary history.
Recenzijos
'A truly extraordinary achievement...demonstrates a history which has never been clarified before and provides a truly stunning sequence of drawings. Both drawings and explanations are novel and original.' Olegar Grabar, Times Literary Supplement 'A splendid volume...A true model for analytical writing about architecture.' J.M.Rogers, Bulletin of the school of Oriental and African Studies
List of Owen Jones Plates in Volume I x List of Miniatures x Foreword xi Godfrey Goodwin Preface xiii Antonio Fernandez-Puertas A Note on Transcription and Dating xix GENERAL INTRODUCTION History and Origins 3(7) Al-Andalus 3(1) The Four Periods of Nasrid Art 3(3) The Historical Importance of Owen Jones and Jules Gourys Plates 6(1) Chronology and Sources 7(1) The Palatine City of the Alhambra 7(1) Origin of the Royal Madinas 8(2) Architecture 10(9) The Architects 10(1) The Builders and Artisans 11(2) Nasrid Architecture in the Alhambra 13(2) Palace Ground Plans: the Nucleus 15(1) Proportional Construction of the Palace Buildings 16(2) The Unit of Measurement: the Codo 18(1) Analysis of Ground Plans and Elevations 19(60) First Period: Palacio del Partal (Muhammad III) 19(5) Torre de Abu I-Juyush Nasr (Peinador de la Reina) 24(1) Second Period: Hammam of the Palacio de Comares (Ismail I and Yusuf I) 24(3) Oratory in the Partal (Yusuf I) 27(1) Qalahurra Nueva of Yusuf I (Torre de la Cautiva) 28(2) Salon de Comares (Yusuf I) 30(7) Third Period: Sala del Mexuar (Muhammad V) 37(1) Entrance Arch of the Sala de la Barca (Muhammad V) 37(7) The Design of the Taqas in the Intrados of the Arch 44(8) Palacio del Riyad (Leones) (Muhammad V) 52(1) Sala de los Mocarabes 53(1) Patio de los Leones 54(1) Sala de los Reyes 55(3) The Galleries and Pavilions of the Patio 58(2) Pavilions 60(1) The Palaces Transverse Axis 61(1) Qubba de los Abencerrajes 61(1) Qubba Mayor 61(1) Lantern Room 62(1) Sala de los Ajimeces 63(1) Upper Floor 64(1) Arches 65(1) Mirador de Lindaraja 65(1) Patio, Pavilions and Galleries 65(1) Pavilions 65(2) N and S Galleries 67(2) E and W Galleries 69(3) Fuente de los Leones 72(1) Elevation of the Galleries and Pavilions 72(3) General Organisation of the N and S Galleries and Miradors 75(1) Entrance Vestibule 76(1) Fourth Period: Qalahurra Nueva of Muhammad VII (Torre de las Infantas) 76(3) Architectural Elements 79(10) Nasrid Elevations 79(1) Architectural Supports 79(1) Walls 79(1) Pillars 79(1) Columns 79(1) Coverings and Roofs 80(1) Vaults 80(1) Wooden Roofs and Armaduras 80(3) Doors and Windows 83(1) Towers 83(1) The Qubba 84(1) Water and Architecture 85(1) Gardens 85(4) Decorated Materials 89(5) Nasrid Decoration 89(1) Placing of the Decoration 90(1) Materials 91(1) Ceramic Alicatado 91(1) Plaster Panels 92(1) Wood 92(1) The Mocarabe 93(1) Ornamental Themes 94(49) Geometric Lazo 94(2) Ataurique 96(8) Figurative Decoration: Palacio del Riyad 104(2) Epigraphic Calligraphy 106(1) The Poets 106(3) Historical Value of the Inscriptions 109(2) Iconographic Value: Quranic Texts 111(1) Descriptive Value of the Texts 112(1) Inscribed Kufic Calligraphy 112(31) Literary, Artistic and Cultural Life at the Nasrid Court 143(18) Members of the Diwan al-Insha 145(2) Poetic, Literary and Cultural Tasks of the Diwan al-Insha 147(1) Composition and Design of the Inscribed Poems 148(1) Epigraphy as a Structural Element in Nasrid Decoration 149(2) Writing Materials and Furniture in the Diwan al-Insha 151(10) PLATES TO THE TIME OF YUSUF I The Madina of the Alhambra 161(7) Panoramic View 161(1) The Royal City of the Alhambra 162(1) Gates 163(1) Streets 164(4) The Nasrid Defensive System 168(9) Natural Entrances to the Vega of Granada (Loja; Alcal la Real; Moclin) 168(3) Inland Territorial Cities (Guadix; Antequera; Ronda) 171(1) Maritime Cities and Fortresses (Almeria; Malaga; Almunecar; Salobrena) 172(2) Algeciras and the Politics of the Straits 174(1) Qalahurrar 175(1) Talias 176(1) The Alhambra Fortress from the Ninth Century to 1237 177(4) The Architecture of the Alcazaba 181(53) General Chronology 181(1) Materials 182(1) The Eleventh-Century Zirid Alcazaba 183(1) The Zirid Bab al-Difaf 184(3) The Zirid Entrance 187(3) The Caliphal Hawd 190(2) The Thirteenth-Century Alcazaba 192(4) The Alhambras Water Supply 196(1) Torre de la Vela 196(5) Torre del Homenaje 201(4) Historical Note 205(1) The Thirteenth-Century Entrance 205(1) The Fourteenth-Century Alcazaba 206(1) N and W sides of the Alcazaba: The Barbican 206(3) Caballerizas 209(1) Torre de los Hidalgos 209(1) W Access to the Trapezoidal Precinct 209(3) Puerta de las Armas 212(6) E side of the Alcazaba: Torre Quebrada 218(3) Torre del Adarguero 221(1) E End of the Fortress 221(2) E and S Barbican 223(1) Torre de la Polvora 224(1) Torre de la Sultana 224(2) The Military District of the Alcazaba 226(1) The Nasrid Cistern 227(1) The Hammam 227(4) Urban Planning 231(1) Dwellings 231(3) Early Nasrid Palaces 234(15) Muhammad I and Muhammad II 234(1) Muhammad III 234(1) Palacio del Partal 235(4) Decorative Panels in the Partal 239(5) Abu I-Juyush Nasr 244(3) Torre de Abu I-Juyush Nasr (Peinador) 247(2) Ismail L I and Yusuf I 249(20) Abu Said Faraj, the Father of Isma`il 249(3) Isma`il I 252(3) Palacio de Comares (Qasr al-Sultan) 255(2) Royal Houses, Gardens and Rawda 257(6) Yusuf I 263(1) Yusuf Is African Policy 263(1) The First Viziers 264(1) Yusufs Policy Towards the Christian Kingdoms 265(1) Home Affairs 265(1) Culture 266(1) Family 267(1) Architecture 268(1) The Comares Hammam 269(14) Bayt al-Maslakh (Apodyrerium) and Wadu (Lavatorium) 273(5) Al-Bayt al-Barid (Frigidarium) 278(1) Al-Bayt al-Wastani (Tepidarium) 278(1) Al-Bayt al-Sakhun (Caldarium) 278(2) Plan and Section 280(2) Owen Jones Jules Goury Sebka Panels in the Bayt al-Maslakh 282(1) The Great Gates: Bab Al-Sharia and Bab Al-Ghudur 283(29) Bab al-Shari`a (puerta de la Explanada) 283(2) External Facade 285(1) Buharda 286(1) Inner Facade 286(1) Foundation Slab 286(5) Foundational Inscription 291(2) Ceramic Panel 293(1) Access through the Gate at Ground Level 294(1) Internal Facade 295(3) Upper Storey 298(1) Probable Medieval Arrangement 299(1) Modern Alterations 300(1) Bab al-Ghudur (Puerta de las Albercas) 301(1) Artillery Bastion 302(1) External Facade 302(6) Rectangular Chamber of Access 308(1) Internal Facade 308(1) Upper Storey as Shown in the Engravings 309(1) General Observations 310(2) The Qalahurra of Yusuf I (Torre de la Cautiva) 312(3) Panels in the Main Room 312(3) Palacio de Comares: N---S Section 315(11) Basement 315(4) Salon de Comares 319(7) Salon de Comares: Entrance 326(6) Spandrel of the Entrance Taqas 326(1) Alicatado inside the Entrance Taqas 327(3) Blind Arch from the Cornice above the Entrance Taqas 330(1) Decorative Motif in the Entrance Taqas and Throne Qubba 330(1) Geometric Decoration 330(2) Lazo-of-Eight: The Principles of Geometric Decoration in the Palacio de Comares and Palacio del Riyad 332(18) Historical Origins 332(1) The Eight-Pointed Star 333(1) How to Build a Lazo-of Eight Design 334(2) Ruedas-of Eight, Formed with Eight-Pointed Stars of 90° (primer cruce) 336(4) Ruedas-of Eight, Formed with Eight-Pointed Stars of 45° (segundo cruce) 340(10) Salon de Comares: Ceramic Floor and Dados 350(29) Floor Tiles 350(3) Ceramic Alicatado Dados 353(1) The Basic Geometric Schemes 354(2) Dados on the N and S walls 356(2) S Dados 358(5) N Dados 363(5) E Dados 368(6) W Dados 374(5) Salon de Comares: Plaster Panels and Armadura 379(28) Plaster panels 379(1) Panels on the S Wall 379(1) Panels on either Side of the Central N, E and W Qubbas 380(3) Panel above the Cupboard Niches of the S Wall 383(3) Intrados of the Arches of the N, E and W Qubbas 386(1) Use of Colour in Nasrid Decoration 386(2) Decorative Corner Squares 388(2) The Armadura 390(11) Two Zafates of the Armadura 401(6) Salon de Comares: The Qubbas 407(38) Blind Ornamental Taqas 407(1) Mocarabes Frieze above the Dados 408(1) Decorative Panel in the Access Arches 408(4) Decorative Panels in the Lateral W Qubbas 412(1) Decorative Panels in the Lateral E Qubbas 413(1) Decorative Blind Arches in the Central Qubbas 413(1) Alicatados in the Three N Qubbas and the Central E and W Qubbas 414(1) The Second Alicatada 414(5) The Third Alicatado 419(11) The Fourth Alicatada 430(1) The Sixth Alicatado 430(4) The Seventh and Eighth Alicatados 434(1) Mocarabes Marble Capital in the Throne Qubba 434(11) GLOSSARY 445(6) BIBLIOGRAPHY 451 INDICES Dates 460 Persons 462 Places 464 Architectural and Other Terms 467 Figures, Plates and Miniatures 472 Plates and Figures Listed by Areas and Buildings 473
Antonio Fernandez-Puertas has been studying the Alhambra palaces since 1968 and was director of the Museo Nacional de Arte Hispanomusulman until 1992. In 1980-81 he won the chair of Muslim Art at the University of Granada and now devotes his time to research and university lecturing. A member of numerous prestigious Spanish and foreign learned institutions, he has published extensively on Hispano-Muslim art and its antecedents in Oriental Umayyad art, as well as on the epigraphy of Islamic Spain and Fatimid Egypt. He is acknowledged as the outstanding world authority on Nasrid art and the Alhambra.
