One of Five Panels Reproducing Walls from the Alhambra
| Artist | Rafael Contreras (Spanish) |
|---|---|
| Title | One of Five Panels Reproducing Walls from the Alhambra |
| Date | Ca. 1865 |
| Medium | Plaster, wood, paint, gilding, marble, and and velvet |
| Dimensions | Overall: 28 3/4 x 14 3/4 in. (73 x 37.5 cm) |
| Credit Line | Morton and Marie Bradley Memorial Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 98.165.1 |
| This artwork is currently on view. | |
Built during the Nasrid dynasy (1232-1492), the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain, is one of the most spectacular monuments to survive from the period of Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula. The beginnings of tourism to Spain in the nineteenth century prompted the establishment of a restoration program for the Alhambra, which had fallen into disrepair. In 1847, Rafael Contreras was appointed restaurador adornista, charged with the reconstruction of much of the palace in accordance with the current taste for Orientalism. Rafael Contreras also presided over a workshop that produced small models of various sections of the palace. These models, made with tourists in mind, reflect Contreras’s restorations—some of which were undone in the twentieth century due to their historical inaccuracy.
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
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"One of Five Panels Reproducing Walls from the Alhambra | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=98.165.1