The protagonists of the “Antigüedades Árabes de España” and the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid

Abstract

The first European efforts to scientifically and artistically engage with the art and history of Islamic culture were made at the Real Academia de Historia (Royal Academy of History) and the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (Royal Academy of Fine Arts) in Madrid during the second half of the eighteenth century. The Spanish concept of antigüedad [antiquity] in connection to the “Moorish” era comprised the Alhambra in Granada and the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, whose architecture, ornaments and inscriptions were studied by various members of the San Fernando Academy, giving rise to the first illustrated scientific publication on this subject, a corpus of work entitled the Antigüedades Árabes de España (1789–1804).