Madinat al-Zahra, from Cordoba to the Paranimph of the UB

The city of Madinat al-Zahra, built after the self-proclamation of Abd al-Rahman III as the caliph of Cordova in 929, is about eight kilometres from Cordoba, Andalusia. According to the report that was used to approve the heritage statement, “Madinat al-Zahra is the only city that was built from the beginning that bears record of the Islamic civilization in Europe, and which is exceptionally well preserved”.

Madinat al-Zahra is a city that was organized out of three terraces that build a rectangular space, in which the palace of the caliph was located, as well as the administration outbuildings, the urban area and the Aljama Mosque. Its construction started in 936 but in 1010 the city was destroyed due the civil war that ended with the Caliphate of Cordoba, which caused a continuous plundering and dismantlement of its buildings during the next centuries. The first excavations that discovered the existence of this place took place in 1911, and these promoted the progress of excavations that lasted until nowadays, except for the period of the Spanish Civil War.

A portion from Muslim Spain in the walls of the Paranimph

In 1880, Dionís Baixeras (Barcelona, 1862-1943) was asked to paint three paintings for the Paranimph of the Historical Building of the University of Barcelona, one of them being a recreation of the Arabian Spain. Baixeras made the Abd al-Rahman III Receiving the Ambassador at the Court of Cordoba in 1885. This painting shows the welcoming of the caliph in an embassy, surrounded by his courtiers, musicians, artists and servants.

Baixerasʼ painting, which is still in the Paranipmh, shows the interior of the palace in Madinat al-Zahra, which is an example of the Arabian reign architecture in the Iberian Peninsula, with details such as archs with the alternative use of two-tone voussoirs and arabesque inscriptions and decorations. The center of the painting has the caliph Abd al-Rahman III, who promoted the construction of the architectural ensemble, as well as his representatives in the embassy. On the sides of the paintings, the author represented fins arts and science with two groups of artisans and scientists, details that make a reference to the cultural knowledge the caliph had.

Dionís Baixeras i Verdaguer was a Catalan painter who founded, together with other painters, the Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc (1893). This arts center, still active, defended Christian-inspired art, naturalista art, balanced and serene against modernism, which was popular during those years. Baixeras was trained in the School of Fine Arts of Llotja and worked for the University of Barcelona, the Montserrat Monastery and the Hotel International (for the Universal Exhibition in 1888), among others.

Baixerasʼ work allows viewers to know more about the inside of the palace of Madinat al-Zahra, the rituals of the Caliphate of Coroba court with the reign of Abd al-Rahman III and their clothing, among other details.

The Area of Institutional Relations and Protocol of the UB would like to make the guided tours around the Historical Building visible on the occasion of this statement, to give value to the heritage of the UB with this question: Would you know which monument from this painting has been recently declared as UNESCO World Heritage? People who visit the building have heard about the link between Baixerasʼ work and the architectural ensemble of Madinat al-Zahra, and they are surprised to see the recreation of Abd al Rahman IIIʼs palace in the walls of the Pranimph.