ARRAYANES: shadows and reflections

ARRAYANES: shadows and reflections is a picture series painted by AL HAMRA contemporary art projects artists group, based on the tile mosaics of the walls of the Patio de los Arrayanes (the Court of the Myrtles)* pavilions in the Alhambra of Granada, which combines on canvas: colour, abstraction and geometry.

In the photo on the left side you can see an example of this collection, created with oil paints on 6 canvases of large size.

Otherwise, the Alhambra, this UNESCO World Heritage site, in Granada (Spain), is highly embellished with calligraphic script, arabesque and geometric patterns. The complex patterns used suggest the palaces’ designers and artisans were quite skilled in mathematics. While the elaborate decorations cover most surfaces of the compound’s buildings and gardens, the repetition and symmetry used in the designs establish a subtel sense of order.

Near the Tower of Comares (the official residence of the emir or king), movements of light and shadow across the arches and walls bring ever-changing views to the Court of the Myrtles (Patio de los Arrayanes) and the courtyard pool, (see the photo at the end of post), provides a wonderful reflection of the Royal Palaces and their decorative motifs of stucco and tile works.

(Detail of tile wall decoration)

(Detail of stucco and tile works)


Then, symmetry, shadows and reflections are the influence of our ARRAYANES artwork series:

(Click on the image to enlarge it)

All of these original paintings of the ARRAYANES art collection are available for sale. For more information about it, please contact by e-mail at alhamra.artworks@gmail.com

(To download the complete collection catalogue, click on the belonged icon in the right column of the webpage)

* The Court of the Myrtles (Patio de los Arrayanes) has received different names throughout time. Its current name is due to the myrtle bushes that surround the central pond and the bright green colour of which contrasts with the white marble of the courtyard. It was also called the Court of the Pond or the Reservoir (Patio del Estanque or de la Alberca) because of the central pond, which is 34 metres long and 7.10 meters wide. The pond divides the court and receives its water from two fountains (one at each end of the pond). There are chambers on both sides of the patio and several porticoes on the shorter sides of it. These porticoes rest on columns with cubic capitals, which have seven semicircular arches decorated with fretwork rhombuses and inscriptions praising God. The central arch is greater than the other six and has solid scallops decorated with stylised vegetal forms and capitals of mocarabes (stucco ornamentation).