Product Description

The architecture and decorative art of the Islamic world, particularly Moorish Spain, is illustrated in this book. It shows how it acted as an influence for designers and architects in the 19th and 20th centuries in Europe and America. The 19th century search for styles of architecture and design often involved the exotic. There were strong links to the Orientalist ideas of artist and writers, and these found their way through the work of architects and designers into interiors and facades for many types of building from synagogues to villas, as the Moorish style. Examples are to be found throughout the world, particularly in Europe and the Americas. The style is rooted in conventions of Islamic art as seen in decorative art and in mosques and palaces from Cordoba to Delhi. 19th century Europe became interested in this style through the rediscovery of Moorish Spain and through developing contacts with Ottoman Turkey and British India. The book explains the development and characteristic elements of Islamic art and architecture through the building of mosques, the medium of calligraphy and pattern and through the handling of materials as diverse as ceramic, wood and stone. In the 20th century, the style has continued to be used, not only in numerous cinemas, many of which have also taken their name from the Alhambra, but also in domestic buildings in the American South-West and Florida, and a country club in Kansas City.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2779150 in Books
• Published on: 1995-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

From Library Journal
This is a study of the development of the "Moorish" style in architecture and crafts as it developed in North Africa and Spain, as well as the style's influence on the architecture of Europe, the Americas, and contemporary Islamic lands. Danby (professor emeritus in architecture, Newcastle Univ.) is at his best in explaining the appeal of the Moorish on Western European culture, with intriguing examples ranging from Romantic paintings to 20th-century movie theaters. The somewhat academically wordy text is profusely illustrated with excellent color photographs of buildings and museum objects. Unfortunately, any value of the text is almost totally undermined by the book's design: the body text is typeset in a thin, condensed, san serif font set in narrow columns and printed with a light gray ink, which renders the writing almost unreadable. Recommended for specialized collections for its coverage of the influence of the Moorish on later architectural styles, and its spectacular color illustrations.?Eugene C. Burt, Art Inst. of Seattle Lib.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher
Presenting images of the architecture and decorative arts of the Islamic world, particularly Moorish Spain, this volume shows how it acted as an inspiration for designers and architects in the 19th- and 20th-centuries in Europe and America. It explains the development and characteristic elements of Islamic art and architecture through the buildings of mosques, the medium of calligraphy and pattern and through the handling of materials as diverse as ceramic, wood and stone.

Customer Reviews

reviem from amazon.co.uk
Synopsis The architecture and decorative art of the Islamic world, particularly Moorish Spain, is illustrated in this book. It shows how it acted as an influence for designers and architects in the 19th and 20th centuries in Europe and America. --This text refers to the hardcover edition of this title

Book Information In the 19th Century a European fascination with the exotic Orient generated what has come to be known as "Orientalism". The costumes, landscapes and townscapes of the Ottoman, Arab and Mogul worlds inspired painters ranging from Delacroix and Ingres to David Roberts and even Matisse. When expressed in architecture and design, buildings and gardens, this phenomenon became known as the Moorish Style.

This style has been used in a vast variety of ways throughout the western world, appearing in gentlemen's clubs and synagogues, cinemas (often called "The Alhambra") and Tuscan villas. In this magnificently illustrated survey, Miles Danby examines the roots of the style in art and architecture throughout the Islamic world. He discusses the factors of space and pattern and the structural and decorative elements that are commonly found in mosques and palaces, whether in Mogul India, Ottoman Turkey or Moorish Spain.

Of all the buildings key to the style, the Alhambra in Granada is perhaps the most important. Expertly recorded by the great 19th-century designer, Owen Jones, its features were to inspire both public and private building into the 20th Century, and make concrete the exotic dreams of a number of wealthy aesthetes. This book, the first to examine the style from its origins to its contemporary manifestation, will act as an inspiration for architects and designers, as well as being a source of visual pleasure and stimulation for all.

Unfortunately unreadable
So sad, a very nice looking book with an interesting approach -- looking at Islamic art and architecture as seen through Western eyes over the last few hundred years. The book showcases some excellent reproductions of fabulous old paintings, historic photographs, and contemporary photographs. Why sad? because the narrative text is printed in light gray in a very skinny sans serif type that swims before my eyes. I admit I don't have perfect vision, but I can read most books perfectly well. In Moorish Style I can read a paragraph or two under a strong light, but it is so agonizing (actually nauseating) I soon give up.

Curse the art director who came up with this great idea!! .... Books have to be more than just pretty.

If it weren't for this 'slight' problem, I would give it four, maybe five stars. For the excellent graphics, I give it three.