Art Prints Inspired by Islamic art and my Heritage from Andalucia

‘And let the silver music of the lute
Attend our going, as a sure road-mark,

And that which fills the cup be substitute

For stars to guide our journey in the dark.’

The Desert of Joy. Poem by Al-Mu’tamid ibn Abbad.
Third and last ruler of the taifa of Seville in Al-Andalus.
Reign: 1069–1091

My heritage. Islamic culture. Islamic art.

I was born in Granada, a historic town in the South of Spain, also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, which was an Islamic realm in southern Iberia during the Late Middle Ages that lasted eight centuries. It was the last independent Muslim state in Western Europe.

In my teenage years I moved to Sevilla where I studied architecture at the University. Seville was also a Muslim state until the XIII. C and my training as an architect looked in detail at the outstanding legacy of Islamic architecture that still stands in the South of Spain.

Islamic art in Brighton

In 2007 I moved to Brighton, now my home, and below I describe two beautiful buildings with a style that is, among others, influenced by Islamic art and somehow ties me together to my origins in Sevilla.

Brighton Royal Pavilion

The Brighton Royal Pavilion was originally a classic building that was later remodelled in Indo-Saracenic style. The style is characterized by decorated surfaces, bulbous domes, and horseshoe, pointed, and multifoil arches. It is worth noting that Islamic Style varies through history and has many different expressions and often other styles, such as the Indo-Saracenic style, borrowed elements from it.

Bandstand

The Brighton Music Bandstand at the seafront, known as the ‘Birdcage’ borrows in style from the Islamic art. The eight cast-iron columns with oriental capitals carry round arches decorated with trefoils and the cupola of ogee profile with latticed openings resonate with the Islamic architecture of the Alhambra in Granada and the Alcazar in Seville. 

Art prints with Islamic references

Below you can browse my collection of art prints that feature some of my designs with Islamic influence that respond to my own heritage and the outstanding beauty of the architecture in Brighton.