The mosque complex comprises a cloister-like colonnade in the east (1779–84) and a main building (1782–86) flanked by two minarets (1786–95) in the west
Schwetzingen, Germany
In Germany, Islamic-style designs borrowed from mosque architecture were used in a wide range of contexts, but none of them religious or in line with Islamic principles. This late 18th-century garden “mosque”, in the Turkish style and part of the Schwetzingen Palace complex in Germany, is the earliest of its kind in the country.
1790; 1841; 1863
Park of Monserrate, Sintra, Portugal
The Palace of Monserrate in Sintra was completed in 1863. It blends a range of European design features with those of India and the Arab world, the latter a clear reference to the legacy of Arab art and culture in Portuguese history.
Woman in traditional dress, Jardin d'Essai
Musée Public National des Antiquités
Algiers, Algeria
This photograph, showing an Algerian woman in a garden, illustrates Europe’s fascination with Arab culture.
Tunis au XIXe Siècle: Aquarelles et Textes de Charles Lallemand
19th century
Institut Supérieur d’Histoire Contemporaine de la Tunisie
La Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia
Monumental Ensemble of Bussaco
19th–20th centuries
Mata Nacional do Buçaco, Portugal
Between 1888 and 1933, the architectural assemblage at Bussaco (Baçaco) took shape. Its eclectic buildings – such as the Palace Hotel – include a wide range of Arab and Islamic details referencing Portugal’s historic encounter with the Arab world.
1832
Musée Public National des Antiquités
Algiers, Algeria
The French Arabist, philologist and artist Louis-Adrien Berbrugger (1801–69) arrived in Algeria in 1835. Unusually for the time, Berbrugger settled in Algeria and married a Muslim woman, and then empathetically studied the culture around him.
1838–1868
Sintra, Portugal
Given their long shared history with the Arab world, Portugal, Spain and Italy in particular revived elements of Arab and Islamic architecture in some constructions of the 19th century. The Pena Palace in Sintra – the Royal family’s summer residence – is an eclectic and exotic building that also incorporates neo-Islamic styles.
1841–1843
Potsdam, Germany
This mosque-style building in Potsdam near Berlin was erected in the 1840s to hide a steam-pump engine that was used to pump water up to the main fountains at Sanssouci. The exterior of the building borrows “Oriental” design elements and clearly imitates Moorish architecture.
The Palace of Porto Trade Association Headquarters, the Arabian Room
1842
Porto, Portugal
Portuguese interiors, too, could reveal a distinct “Oriental” feel in the 19th century. Most spectacular is the Arabian room at the heart of the Oporto Bourse Palace, with its neo-Moorish features inspired by the Alhambra in Granada, built between 1862 and 1880.
The Covered Walkway in the Moorish Garden (Wilhelma Park)
1844
Stuttgart, Germany
In 1837, King Wilhelm I of Württemberg commissioned court architect Karl Ludwig von Zanth to design buildings in the Moorish style for his “Wilhelma” gardens. The aim was to create a sensual fairytale world that, not least, might help him and his guests escape the real one.
Interior of a Moorish Palace, Algiers
1844
National Museum of Romanticism
Madrid, Spain
“Oriental” women and their lives fascinated European painters. This scene, within a Moorish palace in Algiers, seems to depict the family’s private quarters or even the harem, both areas to which most outsiders never gained access. Nevertheless, engravings like this one were often used by Orientalist artists as the basis for their paintings.
Mountain people from Mostaganem
1846
Musée National des Beaux-Arts
Algiers, Algeria
Théodore Chassériau travelled widely during his stay in Algeria in 1846. After exploring the country’s western region, he completed this study of a local mountain dweller.
1846
Musée National des Beaux-Arts
Algiers, Algeria
This preparatory study of the Bey of Constantine is by the French artist Théodore Chassériau (1819–1909). It gives the impression of being the type of preparatory sketch typically made by artists during their travels and later used as aids-mémoire for larger, more complex compositions and paintings once back home.
The Egyptian Magician holding a seance with members of the European community in Cairo
1846
Victoria and Albert Museum
London, United Kingdom