Preview
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Creation Year
1974
Image ID
CS.082
Alternate Identifier
B49.263
Subcollection
CS: Granada
Abstract
A view of the Lower Gardens of the Alhambra, built between the Generalife and the Nasrid palaces in the 20th century. The primary royal garden in the vicinity of the Nasrid palaces of Alhambra, it is situated to the northeast of the main complex. The origin of the word is disputed—some claim that it is derived from the Arabic phrase ‘jannat al-arif’ which in English means ‘garden of the architect.’
Description
The Generalife is located to the east of the Alhambra, and was constructed around the 14th century as the royal summer palace or resting place for the Granadine royalty. Much of the horticultural configuration of the Generalife today derives from the 1920s rather than the original pre-modern plans. Most of the box-hedging, ivies, and flora is anachronistic, and so are the jet water-fountains (overflow fountains were preferred over projectile fountains). In Islamic gardens, flowers were not planted in beds but scattered over the gardens. Indeed, the architects of the Alhambra worked primarily with light, nature and water, and all these elements feature prominently in the Generalife. The Alhambra as a whole is one of the most fantasized monuments of Islamic Architecture, captivating the imagination of a vast number of writers and artists, including Washington Irving and the French author Chateaubriand, to name just a couple. Indeed, some parts of the Alhambra, such as the Court of the Lions, are commonly written about examples of the most beautiful architecture in the world. The palace-complex as it stands today was built mostly in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries under the Nasrid dynasty (1238-1492), in particular by Yusuf I (1333-54) and his son Muhammad V (1354-59, 1362-1391). Out of six royal palaces, only two survive (the Comares palace and the Palace of the Lions). A summer palace called the Generalife (from the Arabic jannat al-arif, ‘the garden of the architect’) is also extant. – SK
Image Notes
Photograph created 1974. Photograph processed June 1974. Formerly catalogued as B49.263. Notes written on the slide or index: Generalife.
Image Format
35 mm slide
Geographic Reference
Granada, Spain
Keywords
Moorish, Muslim, Fourteenth Century, Fifteenth Century, Palace, Garden, Trees, Reconstructed, Twentieth Century, Masonry, Stucco, Courtyard, Arches, Archway