Courtyard, Alhambra (1857–58): Art, History and Details

Courtyard, Alhambra (1857–58) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Charles Clifford (British, 1819–1883).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

A solitary male figure sits on the low step in the Court of the Lions, one of the palace’s two principal courtyards. This view emphasizes the building’s architectural elements and intricate molded plaster ornamentation. The brilliant highlights and dense shadows create a remarkable composition of abstract forms. Fallen into disuse, the Alhambra was an alluring and romantic reminder of past glories for travelers during this early era of photography. An accomplished topographical photographer, Charles Clifford lived in Madrid from 1852 until his death in 1863. He became the official photographer to Queen Isabella II in 1858, chronicling her public life and producing photographs of views all over Spain.

Object facts

• Title: Courtyard, Alhambra
• Date: 1857–58
• Creator attribution: Charles Clifford (British, 1819–1883)
• Culture: England, 19th century
• Type: Photograph
• Technique: albumen print from wet collodion negative
• Dimensions: Image: 29.5 x 40.7 cm (11 5/8 x 16 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.)
• Collection: Photography
• Department: Photography
• Accession number: 1999.113

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.