The Alhambra in Britain. Between Foreignization and Domestication

Abstract

In the nineteenth century the Alhambra was popularized in Britain through literature, paintings, prints, architectural models, and even partial reconstructions. British representations of the Alhambra are a fertile ground to reflect on cultural interactions between Occident and Orient, not least because the case presents an intriguing scenario: the “oriental” is located within the European past; a “direct” colonial agenda is absent. The concept of translation provides a useful metaphor for the process by which British artists transformed Nasrid architecture into idioms that could be understood and sold at home. The Alhambra translations do not form one continuous discourse; they reveal a diverse range of motivations and uses (both foreignizing and domesticating) that played on the imaginations of artists, architects, and the public at large.