The Alhambra at the Crossroads of History : Eastern and Western Visions in the Long Nineteenth Century

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Bibliographic Details
Title: The Alhambra at the Crossroads of History : Eastern and Western Visions in the Long Nineteenth Century
Description: A growing flow of visitors in the 19th century turned the Alhambra into a touristic destination and a major trope of Orientalism, created by Western authors and artists from François-René de Chateaubriand to Owen Jones and from Washington Irving to Jean-Léon Gérôme. Yet behind this Western infatuation lie scores of ‘Oriental'observers of the monument, as revealed by its visitors'book, kept since 1829. This book uses this untapped source to analyse the perceptions of the Alhambra by multiple actors, including Westerners, Spaniards, Maghrebines, Ottoman Turks, Christian Arabs and Muslim Arabs from the Mashreq. In doing so, it reveals the existence of significant variations in both Western and Oriental perceptions of the monument, from ‘Oriental Orientalism'to Arab nationalism. Examining the contemporary press, memoirs, travelogues and photographs – as well as the visitors'book – it uses the Alhambra to build a history of the complex and entangled relations between East and West, North and South, Islam and Christianity, centre and periphery during the heyday of Orientalism and Western hegemony.
Authors: Edhem Eldem
Resource Type: eBook.
Subjects: Christianity and other religions--Islam--History--19th century, Islam--Relations--Christianity--History--19th century, Orientalism--Spain--Granada--History--19th century, East and West--History--19th century
Categories: HISTORY / Middle East / General
Database: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost)
Description
Abstract:A growing flow of visitors in the 19th century turned the Alhambra into a touristic destination and a major trope of Orientalism, created by Western authors and artists from François-René de Chateaubriand to Owen Jones and from Washington Irving to Jean-Léon Gérôme. Yet behind this Western infatuation lie scores of ‘Oriental'observers of the monument, as revealed by its visitors'book, kept since 1829. This book uses this untapped source to analyse the perceptions of the Alhambra by multiple actors, including Westerners, Spaniards, Maghrebines, Ottoman Turks, Christian Arabs and Muslim Arabs from the Mashreq. In doing so, it reveals the existence of significant variations in both Western and Oriental perceptions of the monument, from ‘Oriental Orientalism'to Arab nationalism. Examining the contemporary press, memoirs, travelogues and photographs – as well as the visitors'book – it uses the Alhambra to build a history of the complex and entangled relations between East and West, North and South, Islam and Christianity, centre and periphery during the heyday of Orientalism and Western hegemony.
ISBN:9781399524872
9781399524896
9781399524902