Influence on Modern European Art
The Nasrid dynasty fell to the Catholic armies of Spain in the late 15th century, yet much of its art and architecture was preserved through the centuries. The European Romanticism movement of the 18th century revived interest in Alhambra, and by the 19th century saw a ‘neo-Alhambraism’ develop following the Great Exhibition of 1851 when European collectors such and Jean Charles Davillier began to express a remarkable fascination with art and artefacts from that period, and in 1856 when Owen Jones published his seminal Grammar of Ornament which popularised Nasrid design. In turn, Nasrid art began to captivate artists across Europe including the likes of Matisse, Morris and Escher. The term ‘Alhambrismo’ was conceived to describe a genre that generated hundreds of paintings across Europe.
This blog is part of a two series on Nasrid art and its influence on European art. Look out for the next blog on how the art of Alhambra inspired Spanish metal worker and sculptor Plácido Zuloaga.