Spain didn't escape the 16th century Baroque movement or all of the "Neo-s" that followed — neoclassical et al. And now Barcelona is the city of modernism, from the surreal works of Anton Gaudi to skyscrapers by the latest Pritzker Prize winners.If Spain didn't exist, someone would have to invent it. Spain has a lot to look at — Alhambra is just one adventure. By Owen Jones (1809 – 1974), Welsh Architect, his early work on the Alhambra brought him to prominence, his seminal work, this design source book. He played a key role in the Great Exhibition of 1851 and also the precursor to the V&A Museum.

Legend of Prince Ahmed Al Kamel or The Pilgrim of Love has been adapted as the children’s picture book Prince of the Birds, written and illustrated by Amanda Hall in 2005. [16] The Granada Card Tourist Pass is a pass to visit the main monuments and museums of this city. It includes trips in public transport and discounts in other tourism services. The Alhambra books published by Dosde unveil all the aspects related to this unique architectonic ensemble. These works provide an indepth study of the history of the Alhambra and its most representative spaces, as well as the opportunity to find out about the main architectonic features of this palatine city of monumental design, converted into the main symbol of economic and cultural prosperity achieved by the disappeared Nasrid kingdom.

Tales of the Alhambra (1832) is a collection of essays, verbal sketches and stories by American author Washington Irving (1783–1859) inspired by, and partly written during, his 1828 visit to the palace/fortress complex known as the Alhambra in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. You may visit the andalusian monuments during three days: the day of the visit to the Alhambra and the previous and following day of this visit.

The Alhambra: A Series Of Tales And Sketches Of The Moors And Spaniards public domain audiobook at LibriVox VERDICT: I love this book. I’ve used it a lot to get inspired. To look up patterns or find the next one I want to analyse, play with or teach. Granted it is very simple, line drawings, but they are of what I love! They are grouped by family of symmetry and get progressively more complex. The book becomes extremely useful with a copy of AJ Lee’s PDF that takes you to the source of the pattern (where he was able to find it). This added information adds the missing layer of beauty, as you can then see the pattern in it’s full glory, be it in plaster, woodwork, tiles or other material. Some he wasn’t able to find a source for. If they look particularly iffy, I avoid them as there are a few questionable patterns. For example the innaccuate eightfold rosette that I often mention, is incorrect in quite a few of the versions of it in this book. The twelvefold rosette from the Alhambra is also incorrect (plate 70) one that Mohamad Aljanabi explains in his excellent YouTube video.Then there is Spanish Gothic of the 12th century and Renaissance influences even at Alhambra with the Palace of Charles V — the geometry of the circular courtyard within the rectangular building is so, so Renaissance. Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special. The full title reads as follows: Plans, elevations, sections, and details of the Alhambra, from drawings taken on the spot in 1834 by Jules Goury, and in 1834 and 1837 by Owen Jones. With a complete translation of the Arabic inscriptions, and an historical notice of the kings of Granada from the conquest of that city by the Arabs to the expulsion of the Moors, by Pasqual de Gayangos. Mozarabic describes Christians under Muslim rule; Mudéjar describes the Muslims under Christian dominance. The muwallad or muladi are people of mixed heritage. Alhambra's architecture is all-inclusive.

There is something special about the way David writes about these times, the people, how they relate to each other, their broader interests/context, especially astronomy, technology, religion all with this connecting thread of geometry. I kept working out their ages to get a sense of them and how they linked to what came before and comes after. Writing about historical figures, when done well, brings these figures to life in such a beautiful relatable way. The beautiful generous illustrations are just wonderful, I'm so glad the book is the size it is! I didnt not know about Nuremberg and it felt so relevant to 2020, all those plagues and how they worked/evolved through them. By the time I'd reached Durer, I was so "pleased to meet him"! I really look forward to digging deeper in to the further reading list and looking up some of the names again. I hope you’ve enjoyed my guide to the Alhambra. You may enjoy these other Spain travel guides and resources: The Eurostars Catedralis a lovely hotel housed in a 16th century manor, just a short walk from the cathedral. The Catalonia Granadais a lovely hotel that comes complete with a plunge pool and open air terrace.

While medieval Christians established small communities, with Romanesque basilicas dotting northern Spain's landscape, the Moorish-influenced citadels, including Alhambra, dotted the south well into the 15th century — until 1492 when the Catholic Ferdinand and Isabella captured Granada and sent off Christopher Columbus to discover America. Alhambra palaces were built during the Reconquista, an era of Spain's history generally considered between 718 and 1492. In these centuries of the Middle Ages, Muslim tribes from the south and Christian invaders from the north battled to dominate the Spanish territories, inevitably mingling European architectural features with some of the finest examples of what Europeans called architecture of the Moors. To understand why Moorish architecture exists in Spain, it's helpful to know a little bit about the history and geography of Spain. Archeological evidence from centuries before the birth of Christ (B.C.) suggests the pagan Celts from the northwest and the Phoenicians from the East settled the area we call Spain — the Greeks called these ancient tribes Iberians. The ancient Romans have left the most archeological evidence in what is today known as Europe's Iberian Peninsula. A peninsula is almost entirely surrounded by water, like the state of Florida, so the Iberian Peninsula has always been easily accessible to whatever power invaded. VERDICT: I haven’t used it much, but recognise its value and the role it plays in valuing & cataloguing surface pattern. There is no pattern instruction. It irks me that pattern is used so widely across the world, has its own layers of complexity and meaning but somehow is not always considered “Art” by a narrow European point of view. Shortly after completing a biography of Christopher Columbus in 1828, Washington Irving travelled from Madrid, where he had been staying, to Granada, Spain. At first sight, he described it as "a most picturesque and beautiful city, situated in one of the loveliest landscapes that I have ever seen." [1] Irving was preparing a book called A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada, a history of the years 1478–1492, and was continuing his research on the topic. [2] He immediately asked the then-governor of the historic Alhambra Palace as well as the archbishop of Granada for access to the palace, which was granted because of Irving's celebrity status. [3] Aided by a 17-year-old guide named Mateo Ximenes, Irving gathered legends and tales about the Alhambra, and then left for other parts of Spain. The following year, he returned to the Alhambra and lived in an apartment there for about three months, and was given access to its archives. Irving was inspired by his experiences to write Tales of the Alhambra. [4] The book combines description, myth and narrations of real historical events, even up through the destruction of some of the palace's towers by the French under Count Sebastiani in 1812, and the further damage caused by an earthquake in 1821. Throughout his trip, Washington filled his notebooks and journals with descriptions and observations, though he did not believe his writing would ever do it justice. He wrote, "How unworthy is my scribbling of the place." [3] Irving continued to travel through Spain until he was appointed as secretary of legation at the United States Embassy in London, serving under the incoming minister Louis McLane. [5] He arrived in London by late September 1829. [6] Publication history [ edit ]

Jones, Brian Jay. Washington Irving: An American Original. New York: Arcade Publishing, 2008: 250. ISBN 978-1-55970-836-4VERDICT: The actual books are stunning (thye seem to live on my desk catching the light!). The content is just wow. So well put together, the visual communication is brilliant; I know Serap is so good at this anyway, always making me see things in a different way, making connections between things I had seen separate. There are so many architectural photos I’ve not seen too. The story telling of the patterns, the step by steps, the different renderings of patterns and their variations, so very beautiful and comprehensive. The three volumes cover six, four, twelve, five and tenfold, so beautifully. I can’t wait to actually get drawing. Wooden Books are a small publishers based in Glastonbury, Somerset, UK. Established by John Martineau, a graduate of the PSTA, he published his first book, Book of Coincidences, based on his MA project. Many other PSTA alumni & friends have authored and helped build this collection of beautiful & fascinating books, often witty and a touch magical! Although located in Western Europe, the architecture of Alhambra displays traditional Islamic details of the East, including column arcades or peristyles, fountains, reflecting pools, geometrical patterns, Arabic inscriptions, and painted tiles. A different culture not only brings new architecture, but also a new vocabulary of Arabic words to describe features unique to Moorish designs: Notice the angle of the windows leading up to the dome. The engineering challenge was to put a round dome on top of a square structure. Indenting the circle, creating an eight-pointed star, was the answer. The decorative and functional use of the muqarnas, a type of corbel to support the height, is similar to the use of pendentives. In the West, this architectural detail is often referred to as honeycomb or stalactites, from the Greek stalaktos, as its design appears to "drip" like icicles, cave formations, or like honey: