The Sala de los Abencerrajes (Hall of the Abencerrages) derives its name from a legend according to which the father of Boabdil, the last sultan of Granada, having invited the chiefs of that line to a banquet, massacred them here.This room is a perfect square, with a lofty dome and trellised windows at its base. The roof is decorated in blue, brown, red and gold, and the columns supporting it spring out into the arch form in a remarkably beautiful manner. There is a fountain in the middle of this hall, and the roof — a dome honeycombed with tiny cells, all different, and said to number 5000 — is an example of the "stalactite vaulting" of the Moors.
For those who wish to see how it looks like during the day: Hall of Abencerrajes -Pedro Albuquerque . When you zoom in you can see how stunningly intricate this is. Absolutely amazing.
Rhinelander7says
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing this in person. The Alhambra is truly a beautiful structure!
Absenteeistsays
The coloured lights remind me of the issue of painting and restoration/reconstruction. I’ve had the privilege of visiting the Alhambra, and in person you can see that much of the stucco decoration in this photo was once painted different colours, though now the paint has faded and the overall impression is of off-white and beige. It’s still stunningly beautiful, but like many pre-modern buildings, it was intended to be brightly coloured, presumably more like this than it is now.
The same goes for many Gothic cathedrals. The Chartres Cathedral in France is being restored and painted to appear more as it originally did, and naturally the restoration is controversial.
My personal view is that if you can restore something to how it originally looked, buildings in particular, up to and including painting something that has lost all its colour, then you generally should. I love the Chartres restoration—among other things, it’s a wonderful break from Gothic architecture as monolithic caverns of grey. I don’t buy that soot from candles or oil-burning furnaces, some of which were installed less than a hundred years ago, have anything to do with the “authenticity” of a site, any more than yellowing varnish on a Renaissance painting or damage sustained over the life of the work.
But that’s just my two cents—and of course I don’t get a vote in the decision-making process in any event.
rehlingenn says
The Sala de los Abencerrajes (Hall of the Abencerrages) derives its name from a legend according to which the father of Boabdil, the last sultan of Granada, having invited the chiefs of that line to a banquet, massacred them here.This room is a perfect square, with a lofty dome and trellised windows at its base. The roof is decorated in blue, brown, red and gold, and the columns supporting it spring out into the arch form in a remarkably beautiful manner. There is a fountain in the middle of this hall, and the roof — a dome honeycombed with tiny cells, all different, and said to number 5000 — is an example of the "stalactite vaulting" of the Moors.
For those who wish to see how it looks like during the day: Hall of Abencerrajes -Pedro Albuquerque . When you zoom in you can see how stunningly intricate this is. Absolutely amazing.
Rhinelander7 says
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing this in person. The Alhambra is truly a beautiful structure!
Absenteeist says
The coloured lights remind me of the issue of painting and restoration/reconstruction. I’ve had the privilege of visiting the Alhambra, and in person you can see that much of the stucco decoration in this photo was once painted different colours, though now the paint has faded and the overall impression is of off-white and beige. It’s still stunningly beautiful, but like many pre-modern buildings, it was intended to be brightly coloured, presumably more like this than it is now.
The same goes for many Gothic cathedrals. The Chartres Cathedral in France is being restored and painted to appear more as it originally did, and naturally the restoration is controversial.
My personal view is that if you can restore something to how it originally looked, buildings in particular, up to and including painting something that has lost all its colour, then you generally should. I love the Chartres restoration—among other things, it’s a wonderful break from Gothic architecture as monolithic caverns of grey. I don’t buy that soot from candles or oil-burning furnaces, some of which were installed less than a hundred years ago, have anything to do with the “authenticity” of a site, any more than yellowing varnish on a Renaissance painting or damage sustained over the life of the work.
But that’s just my two cents—and of course I don’t get a vote in the decision-making process in any event.