Mudéjar

Mudejar

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Mudéjar is the name given to the Moors who remained in Spain after the Christian reconquista but were not converted to Christianity, and to the style of Spanish architecture and decoration, strongly influenced by Moorish taste and workmanship, that they developed. In erecting Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance buildings, elements of Islamic art were used, achieving sometimes striking results.

The Mudéjar style, a symbiosis of techniques and ways of understanding architecture resulting from Jewish, Muslim and Christian cultures living side by side, emerged as an architectural style in the 12th century on the Iberian peninsula. It is characterised by the use of brick as the main material. Mudéjar did not involve the creation of new shapes or structures (like Gothic or Romanesque), but reinterpreting Western culture styles through Muslim influences. The dominant geometrical character, distinctly Islamic, emerged conspicuously in the accessory crafts—tilework , brickwork, wood carving, plaster carving, and ornamental metals. Even after the Muslims themselves were no longer employed, many of their contributions remained as an integral part of Spanish building.

It is accepted that the Mudéjar style was born in Toledo, as an adaptation of architectural and ornamental motifs (especially through decoration with plasterwork and brick). Mudéjar extended northwards (Leon, Ávila, Segovia, etc.) giving rise to what has been called brick Romanesque. Centres of Mudéjar art are found in other cities, like Sahagún , Toro, Cuéllar , Arévalo and Madrigal de las Altas Torres. It became most highly developed mainly in Aragon, especially in Teruel (although also in Zaragoza, Utebo , Tauste , Daroca , Calatayud, etc.). During the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, many imposing Mudéjar-style towers were built in the city of Teruel, changing the physiognomy of the city right down to the present day. Mudéjar brought in a new characteristic by leading to a fusion between the incipient Gothic style and the Muslim influences that had previously been superimposed on late Romanesque. A particularly fine Mudéjar example is the Casa de Pilatos , of the early 16th century at Seville.

Surviving Mudéjar buildings

Listed below are examples of surviving Mudéjar buildings in the Iberian Peninsula.