Generalife

Abstract

A window in one of the Nasrid palaces of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain looking out to the old Albaicin neighborhood. For a general account of the Alhambra, see slide B49.185.

Description

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 B49.258. Notes written on the slide or index: Generalife.

Identifier CS.077
Collection CS: Granada
Location Granada, Spain
Year 1974
Batch Stamp JUN 74
Written Date 1974
Printed Date June, 1974
Index Notes Generalife