‘Altogether un-European’ : Morisco decorative art and Spain’s hybrid culture, 1492-1614

Abstract

After the fall of Islamic leadership in Granada in 1492, the entire Iberian Peninsula came under Christian rule. Over the course of the sixteenth century up until the expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609, the crown and Inquisition officials in Spain worked to eliminate the remnants of Islamic culture, such as clothing, baths, and the Arabic language. Yet, Moorish and Islamic decorative arts were overlooked and even supported by church and state. This thesis argues that many elements of Iberian Islamic arts and culture were adopted across Spain, and the resulting hybrid Spanish culture created an exotic or ‘Oriental’ image to outsiders. Despite Spain’s location within Europe, and the conversion, however superficial, of its peoples to Christianity, Europeans continued to perceive Spain as different. The hybrid culture from 900 years of coexistence with Muslims made it impossible to purge the ‘other’ from Spain completely, despite the crown’s Catholic ideals.