Caliphal art
From the 8th to the 11th century, the first stage of Hispano-Moorish art was embodied in what has been called the caliphal art of Cordoba. Under the leadership of the Umayyads, this caliphate was to experience a highly fertile period of artistic activity, reflected in the many architectural achievements around its capital. Its most masterful landmark was the Great Mosque of Cordoba. Built in four stages between 784 and 1001, it was intended from the outset to be the most important monument in Western Islam. With this in mind, the building alone comprises 19 naves, resting on 860 pillars of jasper, marble and granite in different colors: red, white, blue and violet. The horseshoe arches, based on a Visigothic technique, abound and became representative of this architectural style. The style was also marked by geometrically shaped ornamentation and plant motifs carved into the brickwork. Another major achievement, Medina Azahara, was intended to symbolize Umayyad grandeur in the face of the Baghdad caliphate, but this walled "shining city" serving as court residence was destroyed by internal wars in al-Andalus less than 100 years after its creation. Although the site of this ephemeral city can be visited today, it is above all a data bank on the period, since only 10% of the site has been excavated. In Andalusia, two other buildings bear witness to the artistic influence of Caliphal art: the Alcazaba in Almeria and the mosque at Almonaster la Real, in the province of Huelva, which has a plan similar to that of Umayyad mosques. In the decorative arts, marble plays a special role, with finely sculpted everyday objects such as jugs, jewelry boxes and ointment containers. Ceramics are distinguished by their geometric and figurative decoration, but above all by their colors, green or violet, obtained by the application of copper or manganese oxides. As in Baghdad and Cairo, the caliphs of Cordoba set up their own weaving workshops, which were to become the source of the embroidered silk of Al-Andalus.
The Almohad period
From the 12th to the 13th century, the Berber dynasty of the Almohads gave rise to a sober, austere style of architecture, characterized by brick constructions, enhanced by a decor without overloading. The Giralda was the most grandiose manifestation of this style. Today, this ancient minaret, modelled on the Kutubiyya in Marrakech, still dominates the city of Seville from the top of its 95-metre tower. Admire its brick mosaics, hollowed out by elegant windows and decorated with stone lacework. During this period, palaces were built along the same lines, but with new patio forms. These included the cross-shaped patio of the Sala de Contratación and the patio del yeso, both of which can be seen in Seville's Alcazar. The latter inaugurated a system of stucco blinds for lighting and ventilating the surrounding rooms, which was later systematized. In military terms, the Almohads perfected the defensive efficiency of earlier fortresses. In particular, they created polygonal towers to deflect the attackers' angle of fire, as in Seville's Torre de Oro. The province of Seville is home to Alcazaba (a fortress protecting a place of power, the palace) such as Alcalá de Guadaíra, where the most significant work took place during this period. In ceramics, the Almohad period saw the development of the azulejo technique. Azulejos are earthenware tiles based on a great Eastern decorative tradition that first appeared in Seville's Triana district in the 12th century. The period applied the same imperatives of sobriety, order and rationality to the decorative arts as it did to architecture.
Nasrid art
It appeared in the 14th and 15th centuries in Spain's last Muslim kingdom, Granada. The architecture of these palaces was marked by great refinement in the interior and exterior decoration of the buildings, with walls lined with stucco and sculpted with ceramics. At the same time, the silhouette of the arches was simplified and tapered. It's only logical that the building where this art is most exemplary is theAlhambra in Granada. Here, the patios are organized in a new way: in a straight line, as in the Patio des Arrayanes, or crossed, as in the Patio de los Leones. Each accompanied by a new typology of surrounding rooms, elongated and ending in alcoves for the former, or square for the latter. Military constructions were based on the principles of the Almohad period, but with greater complexity. The same refinement was to be found in the decorative arts, notably in ceramics with the birth of loza dorada, with its metallic sheen, which was used to make the vases and jars of the Alhambra. Or silk fabrics, characterized by their intense colors and patterns similar to architectural decorations. They also saw the birth of the taracea technique, inlaying materials (mother-of-pearl, ivory, metal) of various colors to form a mosaic. At the same time, Mudejar art began to assert itself between the 11th and 15th centuries, following the progress of the Reconquest. The work of Muslim craftsmen who remained in the reconquered land, it produced a masterly synthesis of Arab and Western aesthetics, incorporating Visigothic art in particular. Horseshoe arches and stalactite vaulted ceilings are particularly prominent. In Seville, the main patio of the Casa de Pilatos is a fine example, as is the Palace of the Countess of Lebrija, one of the finest examples of 15th-century Mudéjar.
