Cordova 1835

John Frederick Lewis made this watercolor painting, Cordova, at an unknown date. It depicts a Christian alter placed inside a mosque. Lewis was known for his Orientalist scenes, and this picture speaks to the complicated dynamic between Islamic and Christian cultures in nineteenth-century Spain, following the Reconquista. The architecture of the mosque is still intact, richly ornamented with arabesque patterns that point to Spain's Islamic past. Yet, in the foreground, we see Christian worshippers kneeling before an altar. This layering of architectural and religious iconography tells us of the history of institutional power. To understand this image fully, we need to understand the history of museums and other institutions of cultural memory, which shape how art is produced, collected, and interpreted. Art historical research, combined with social and cultural history, can uncover the ways in which art reflects and challenges the dominant ideologies of its time.