AP Art History 250: 56. Great Mosque, Córdoba, Spain

Great Mosque

Córdoba, Spain. Umayyad. c. 785-786 C.E. Stone masonry

The Great Mosque of Cordoba is a prime example of the Muslim world's ability to brilliantly develop architectural styles based on

pre-existing regional traditions. It is built with recycled ancient Roman columns from which sprout a striking combination of two

tiered, symmetrical arches, formed of stone and red brick.

Form

Mosque - place of Islamic worship
~ 620x460 feet

Function

To demonstrate the presence & permanence of the transplanted Umayyads in Cordoba

built this mosque in cordoba on the site of a christian church [built by the visigoths]
This appropriation of a christian site made a statement about the existence of Islam in the region & the power of the new rulers

Place of worship

Followers pray towards the mihrab (which faces mecca)

Represents a fusion of cultures & religions
Exemplifies Islamic design of tesserae & variety of color on mosaics

Content

Comprised of...

large hypostyle prayer hall

hypostyle = filled w/ columns
“full of seemingly endless rows of identical [two-tiered] columns and [double-flying] arches made from alternating red and white voussoirs” (Gateways, 148)

voussoirs = “stone wedges that make up the arch”

Interior space seems magnified by its repeated geometry
Sense of awe & monumentality

mihrab

The wall that indicates the direction of Mecca for Muslims’ daily prayer time

Mecca = birthplace of islam (in modern-day saudi arabia)

Golden tesserae form bands of calligraphy
Focal point in the prayer hall
Famous horseshoe arched prayer niche
Particularly in this mosque
Framed by an exquisitely decorated arch >> the famous horseshoe arch

Common in the architecture of the visigoths

Visigoths = the people that ruled this area after the roman empire collapsed & before the umayyads arrived

An easily identified characteristic of western islamic architecture

Ribbed dome

Above the mihrab / central bay
A metaphor for the celestial canopy
Intricate composition of criss-crossing arches

demonstrates the mathematical & architectural accomplishments of the Islamic civilization
^also exemplifies the use of geometry as a source of artistic inspiration
all lavishly covered with gold mosaic in a radial pattern

Anticipates later gothic rib vaulting (though on a more modest scale)

a courtyard with a fountain in the middle
an orange grove
a covered walkway circling the courtyard
a minaret (now encased in a square, tapered bell tower)

minaret = tower used to call the faithful to prayer

Minbar

Used to stand by the mihrab as the place for the prayer leader & a symbol of authority

Repeating elements (columns, arches, voussoirs) - establishes a steady rhythm within the structure

This structural repetition suggests the same kind of repetition in prayer (as seen in Muslim worship: recitation of the Shahada [one’s profession of faith] five times per day)
Repetition - alludes to the “permanence of [the] architecture” as it is “combined with the timelessness of prayer” (148)

Mosaics, inscriptions from the Quran, and brilliant colors line interior

Intricate patterns/designs formed by the tesserae (tiles within a mosaic)

Context

Demonstration of multi-cultural influence on their art

Ancient roman columns in hypostyle prayer hall were recycled from the original christian church on site

Interior uses spolia

Reused columns of slightly varying heights

Horseshoe arches

of the roman & visigoth architectural style
Came to be characteristic of islamic architecture

The building was expanded over 200 years (even after becoming a mosque)
Began as a roman temple
Temple was converted to a church by visigoths - who seized cordoba in 572 CE
Umayyad conquerors converted church to a mosque

Completely rebuilt by the descendants of the exiled Umayyads
Umayyads

First Islamic dynasty who had originally ruled from their capital, Damascus (in present-day syria), from 661 to 750

7th & 8th centuries

^^period of vastly increasing wealth

Rulers built mosques & palaces through the islamic empire to demonstrate dynasty authority & the increasing power of the islamic faith

Yet this economic prosperity resulted in significant financial corruption among caliphs

Provincial rulers fled the control of tyrannical caliphs to establish independent dynasties

Post the overthrow of his family (the Umayyads) in Damascus by incoming Abbasids, Prince Abd al-Rahman I escaped to southern Spain

Established himself as Emir there (w/ the support of muslim settlers) and centered his emirate in Cordoba

Attempted to recreate the grandeur of Damascus in Cordoba

He sponsored building programs, promoted agriculture, imported fruit trees / other plants from damascus
^^orange trees still stand in the courtyard of the mosque in Cordoba

Site was practical & symbolic

Place that affirmed Muslim presence

Cordoba

Both a major commercial & intellectual center for the arts, literature, science, & philosophy
Fostered a diverse & thriving urban culture

Islamic civilization

appreciation for different cultures & worked to preserve/absorb preceding cultures
Caliphates had classical Latin works translated into arabic
gained mathematical knowledge from india
Learned of the invention of paper from china

^^this willingness to incorporate other cultures extended into their art & is exemplified in this mosque
One of the oldest structures still standing from the time Muslims ruled Al-Andalus in the late 8th century

Al-Andalus = Muslim Iberia (includes most of spain, portugal, small section of southern france)

The great mosque at córdoba (overview)

Very simple plan; hypostyle hall
Less of a sense of monumentality (in comparison to the great mosque of damascus)
Double arches to raise the ceiling
Mixing roman and byzantine mosaic work - striking juxtaposition of old and new
A center for scholars all over the islamic world
“Prime example of the muslim world’s ability to brilliantly develop architectural styles based on pre-existing regional traditions” (Khan Academy, The Great Mosque of Cordoba)
“An extraordinary combination of the familiar & the innovative” (Khan Academy, The Great Mosque of Cordoba)

Cross cultural comparisons: architectural plans