A Grammar of Muqarnas: Drawings of the Alhambra by Jones and Goury (1834-1845)

The muqarnas of the Nasrid Alhambra stand out as one of the most singular architectural episodes of Medieval Islamic art due to their sophisticated three-dimensional construction, whose layout remains little known. In 1834 and 1837, the architects Owen Jones and Jules Goury visited the monument in G...

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Main Authors: Antonio Gámiz Gordo, Ignacio Ferrer Pérez-Blanco
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidad Politécnica de Valencia 2019-10-01
Series:VLC Arquitectura
Subjects:
Online Access:https://polipapers.upv.es/index.php/VLC/article/view/10947
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author Antonio Gámiz Gordo
Ignacio Ferrer Pérez-Blanco
author_facet Antonio Gámiz Gordo
Ignacio Ferrer Pérez-Blanco
author_sort Antonio Gámiz Gordo
collection DOAJ
description The muqarnas of the Nasrid Alhambra stand out as one of the most singular architectural episodes of Medieval Islamic art due to their sophisticated three-dimensional construction, whose layout remains little known. In 1834 and 1837, the architects Owen Jones and Jules Goury visited the monument in Granada and accomplished surprising drawings thereof, later published towards 1842-1845 as chromolithograph prints, which represented its architecture, ornaments, and muqarnas in a systematic way for the first time. In order to value their pioneering drawings, the historical data is briefly reviewed and several previous drawings of the Alhambra are cited. After consideration of a few questions regarding the process of data collection in Granada, a comparative analysis is presented of a cornice, a capital, an arch and a pendentive, with photos and computer-aided drawings. Thus, the principles or elementary grammar of muqarnas groupings described by these architects are highlighted, as well as the precision of their images, which resulted crucial to integrate and disseminate the architectural legacy of the Alhambra in the contemporary Western culture.
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spelling doaj.art-f367c64f0caf47b4aecab429ed4b108a2022-12-21T19:07:15ZengUniversidad Politécnica de ValenciaVLC Arquitectura2341-30502341-27472019-10-0162578710.4995/vlc.2019.109477809A Grammar of Muqarnas: Drawings of the Alhambra by Jones and Goury (1834-1845)Antonio Gámiz Gordo0Ignacio Ferrer Pérez-Blanco1Universidad de SevillaÉcole Polytechnique Federale de LausanneThe muqarnas of the Nasrid Alhambra stand out as one of the most singular architectural episodes of Medieval Islamic art due to their sophisticated three-dimensional construction, whose layout remains little known. In 1834 and 1837, the architects Owen Jones and Jules Goury visited the monument in Granada and accomplished surprising drawings thereof, later published towards 1842-1845 as chromolithograph prints, which represented its architecture, ornaments, and muqarnas in a systematic way for the first time. In order to value their pioneering drawings, the historical data is briefly reviewed and several previous drawings of the Alhambra are cited. After consideration of a few questions regarding the process of data collection in Granada, a comparative analysis is presented of a cornice, a capital, an arch and a pendentive, with photos and computer-aided drawings. Thus, the principles or elementary grammar of muqarnas groupings described by these architects are highlighted, as well as the precision of their images, which resulted crucial to integrate and disseminate the architectural legacy of the Alhambra in the contemporary Western culture.https://polipapers.upv.es/index.php/VLC/article/view/10947muqarnasalhambradrawingjonesgoury
spellingShingle Antonio Gámiz Gordo
Ignacio Ferrer Pérez-Blanco
A Grammar of Muqarnas: Drawings of the Alhambra by Jones and Goury (1834-1845)
VLC Arquitectura
muqarnas
alhambra
drawing
jones
goury
title A Grammar of Muqarnas: Drawings of the Alhambra by Jones and Goury (1834-1845)
title_full A Grammar of Muqarnas: Drawings of the Alhambra by Jones and Goury (1834-1845)
title_fullStr A Grammar of Muqarnas: Drawings of the Alhambra by Jones and Goury (1834-1845)
title_full_unstemmed A Grammar of Muqarnas: Drawings of the Alhambra by Jones and Goury (1834-1845)
title_short A Grammar of Muqarnas: Drawings of the Alhambra by Jones and Goury (1834-1845)
title_sort grammar of muqarnas drawings of the alhambra by jones and goury 1834 1845
topic muqarnas
alhambra
drawing
jones
goury
url https://polipapers.upv.es/index.php/VLC/article/view/10947
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