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Lot Essay
Edwin Lord Weeks travelled to Spain and the Mediterranean early in his career in the early to mid 1870s. Surviving examples from Weeks' early Spanish oeuvre are comparatively rare, but this period was to set the visual agenda for his subsequent work in Morocco, India, and Persia; exotic architecture and figures set in brilliant light.
The subject of the present painting is the Patio de Comares of the Alhambra, looking toward the entry portico to the Hall of Ambassadors. Weeks painted at Granada and Cordova, and he was attracted to such grand works as the Alhambra in Granada, the great citadel of the Moorish kings of Spain. Built between 1250 and 1354 and extensively restored after 1828, it is one of the finest examples of Moorish architecture.
For Weeks, this view of the Alhambra held archetypal elements which would come to epitomize his work; a large pool of water, or tank, framed by an elaborate architectural backdrop with a diagonal perspective, leading the eye deep into the space of the painting. In this instance we see five bays of the seven-bay facade of marble columns, glazed tiles, and carved plaster, the whole rendered in Weeks' characteristic balance between the brilliant light of the sun and the deep shadow of the entry. The central pool, fed from small fountains bowls at each end, suggests cool respite from the severe climate. The court, with its parallel lines of fragrant myrtles, provides the setting for the swans, flamingoes, and Moorish figures that heighten the exoticism of the scene, also prefiguring Weeks' later works. As always, the draftsmanship and technical precision of the painting are strong, with perspective view, the facade details and the reflections in the water faithfully rendered. This is a beautiful depiction of the Alhambra, and a painting which serves as an index to Weeks' deft handling of form, light, and colour.
We are grateful to Dr. Ellen K. Morris for her assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.
To be included in the forthcoming Weeks catalogue raisonn currently being prepared by Dr. Morris
The subject of the present painting is the Patio de Comares of the Alhambra, looking toward the entry portico to the Hall of Ambassadors. Weeks painted at Granada and Cordova, and he was attracted to such grand works as the Alhambra in Granada, the great citadel of the Moorish kings of Spain. Built between 1250 and 1354 and extensively restored after 1828, it is one of the finest examples of Moorish architecture.
For Weeks, this view of the Alhambra held archetypal elements which would come to epitomize his work; a large pool of water, or tank, framed by an elaborate architectural backdrop with a diagonal perspective, leading the eye deep into the space of the painting. In this instance we see five bays of the seven-bay facade of marble columns, glazed tiles, and carved plaster, the whole rendered in Weeks' characteristic balance between the brilliant light of the sun and the deep shadow of the entry. The central pool, fed from small fountains bowls at each end, suggests cool respite from the severe climate. The court, with its parallel lines of fragrant myrtles, provides the setting for the swans, flamingoes, and Moorish figures that heighten the exoticism of the scene, also prefiguring Weeks' later works. As always, the draftsmanship and technical precision of the painting are strong, with perspective view, the facade details and the reflections in the water faithfully rendered. This is a beautiful depiction of the Alhambra, and a painting which serves as an index to Weeks' deft handling of form, light, and colour.
We are grateful to Dr. Ellen K. Morris for her assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.
To be included in the forthcoming Weeks catalogue raisonn currently being prepared by Dr. Morris