Mudejarismo and Moorish Revival in Europe : Cultural Negotiations and Artistic Translations in the Middle Ages and 19th-century Historicism

Francine Giese, Ph.D. (2004) and habilitation (2015), University of Bern, is director of Vitrocentre and Vitromusée Romont. From 2014-2019 she held a SNSF professorship at the Institute of Art History of the University of Zurich, where she led the research project Mudejarismo and Moorish Revival in Europe.

Mudejarismo and Moorish Revival in Europe examines key aspects related to the reception of Ibero-Islamic architecture in medieval Iberia and 19th-century Europe. It challenges prevalent readings of architecture and interiors whose creation was the result of cultural encounters. As Mudéjar and neo-Moorish architecture are closely connected to the Islamic world, concepts of identity, nationalism, religious and ethnic belonging, as well as Orientalism and Islamoscepticism significantly shaped the way in which they have been perceived over time. This volume offers art historical and socio-cultural analysis of selected case studies from Spain to Russia and opens the door to a better understanding of interconnected cultural and artistic phenomena.