Preview
Creation Year
1974
Image ID
CR.043
Alternate Identifier
B49.124
Subcollection
CR: Southeast Spain
Abstract
A view inside the mihrab, which houses a seven sided room paneled with smooth marble slabs. Above each slab is a trefoil arch on black marble columns.
Description
The Great Mosque of Cordoba is considered to be the one of the most remarkable monuments of Umayyad Spain and a masterpiece of medieval architecture. It was built in several phases, beginning with Abd al-Rahman I (784-86), and with perhaps the most significant additions by al-Hakam II. The present courtyard of the hypostyle mosque depicts the ‘forest of columns’ that this building is so famous for. One of the most important innovations was the use of double-tiered arches, which elegantly supported the roof and increased the height as well. Jerilynn Dodds has described the effect of this in equally powerful words: “…the columns that support the hypostyle hall explode into a labyrinthine elevation of superimposed horseshoe shaped arches composed of voussoirs in which deep red brick and white stone alternate. This carnivalesque solution converts a basic building type that is repetitious and by nature somewhat monotonous into a wild three-dimensional maze, a hall of mirrors in which the constant echo of arches and unruly staccato of colors confuse the viewer…” – SK
Image Notes
Photograph created May 1974. Photograph processed June 1974. Formerly catalogued as B49.124. Notes written on the slide or index: Cordoba, Mezquita, interior.
Image Format
Article
Geographic Reference
Córdoba, Spain
Keywords
Roman, Umayyad, Eighth Century AD, Mosque, Stone, Masonry, Arches, Mihrab, Mosaic, Marble, Columns, Byzantine Period, Horseshoe Arches, Tiles
Rights Statement
