Islamic Art and Culture in the Spanish Imagination, 1750-1815

FAIN: FA-53726-08

Andrew Schulz
Arizona Board of Regents (Eugene, OR 97403-5219)

My book reconsiders the legacy of al-Andalus (Muslim Iberia) by focusing on the crucial yet relatively unexamined period bounded by 1750 and 1815, during which Spanish artists, writers on art, and government officials turned their attention as never before to Spain's Islamic past. I analyze not only the reception of the art and architecture of Islamic Spain, but also the representation of the history and culture of al-Andalus. As I detail in a series of linked case studies, eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century artists and writers on art found compelling ways to integrate the objects and monuments of al-Andalus into the framework of a national artistic tradition under formation during this period. My study will be of interest to scholars of Spanish history and art history, as well as to humanists concerned with broader questions, such as the place of Islam in European culture and the mobilization of history and culture in the construction of national identity.