Islamic Architecture has influenced Art around the world
Since the 700's Spain has had a population of Muslims who have migrated to the country. Arab community did not have many rights until Abd al Rahman came to fight and subsequently conquered. The Moors ruled large parts of what they called al-Andalus, located in Southern Spain, a city that is known today largely for its remarkable architecture.
What and Where
The Moors built a series of mosques, citadels, and palaces filled with ornate plaster carvings and tile work. From the geometric grid designs on the minaret that is now part of the Sevilla Cathedral's Giralda bell tower, to the symmetrically arrayed gardens and fountains of the Generalife. Examples of the stunning work of Moorish architects and craftsmen abound in such cities Spanish cities as Sevilla, Grenada, Cordoba and Zaragoza, and yet, its work has expanded all around including UCLA.
Artist
Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre was a successful artist. His paintings involved the exposure of light passing vividly through his paintings. Louis collected his knowledge through apprenticeships. His expertise spanned to architecture, theatre design, and panoramic painting. Louis was inspired by camera obscura, and he tried to find a way to preserve the image that it creates. Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre was a French painter however he felt very inspired by the influence of Moorish architecture in Spain so much so that he felt the need to paint a shoe horse arched image of a building.
Again, Architecture was important to Daguerres which was demonstrated through another piece. He shared his passion in this gothic castle. Gothic style has also been inspired by The moorish archistructre. When painting he assured to present a pointed arch and it seperates a defining characteristic of Gothic architecture. The pointed arch appears to have been introduced from Islamic characteristics in many areas. Fortunately, it evolved as a structural solution in late Romanesque, both in England at Durham Cathedral, and in the Burgundian Romanesque and Cistercian architecture of France.
Louis is known to have invented the first practical process of photography, known as the daguerreotype. His art work has unraveled what we now know as photography. From the moment of its birth, photography had a dual character as a medium of artistic expression and as a powerful scientific took and Daguerre promoted his invention on both fronts. Several of his earliest plates were still-life compositions of plaster casts after antique sculpture an ideal subject since the white casts reflected light well, were immobile during long exposures, and lent, by association, the aura of “art” to pictures made by mechanical means.
To sum it all up, the ubiquity of daguerreotypes sparked portrait galleries. For the first time, average people could go to galleries and see true images of leaders, officials, and celebrities. These galleries could even travel from place to place. It brought the rich and famous into the average person's life.
