Captivating views of the Alhambra, produced for tourists visiting Granada

[Alhambra - Photography]. Mauzaisse, Charles (photographer). [Collection of 13 photographs of the Alhambra in Granada].

€ 9.500,00

Collection of 19th century albumen photographic prints of the Alhambra in Spain by Charles Mauzaisse (ca. 1823-85?), who flourished in the 1860s. The beautiful images show many different parts of the Alhambra, especially of the court and palace of lions, including the central fountain and the pavillion, with the oriental dome that was added in 1859 and later removed. The Alhambra is a medieval palace and fort of “Moorish” or Muslim rulers of the Kingdom of Granada in Andalusia in the South of the Iberian Peninsula. Additionally, the collection contains one photograph of the tomb of the Catholic monarchs, which is located in the Royal Chapel of Granada.

During the 19th century, tourism was booming. Travellers wanted to take home proof of their travels, and many photographers seized the opportunity to sell their works to tourists. Charles Mauzaisse, son of the painter Jean Baptiste Mauzaisse, travelled to the south of Spain and fell in love with Granada, where he went on to develop his professional activity alongside other renowned photographers such as Laurent, Coutourier, and Dubois. All of them - aware of the lucrative field of work that the image of the Alhambra offered - settled more or less definitively in the city, just as Masson or Count Vigier did in Seville or Clifford and Laurent in Madrid.

The collection gives a beautiful insight into 19th century photography in the Iberian Peninsula, showing off the beautiful Arabic and Muslim influenced architecture in Granada.