Cordova was once the pearl of the West, the city of cities, Cordova of
the thirty suburbs and three thousand mosques; to-day she is no more
than an overgrown village, but she still remains the most Oriental town
in Spain.
Cordova, once the centre of European civilisation, under the Moors the
Athens of the West, the successful rival of Baghdad and Damascus, the
seat of learning and the repository of the arts, has shrunk to the
proportions of a third-rate provincial town; but the artist, the
antiquary and the lover of the beautiful, will still find in its streets
and squares and patios a mysterious spell that cannot be resisted.
* * * * *
BY ALBERT F. CALVERT
LIFE OF CERVANTES
A NEW LIFE OF THE GREAT SPANISH AUTHOR TO COMMEMORATE THE TERCENTENARY
OF THE PUBLICATION OF “DON QUIXOTE,” WITH NUMEROUS PORTRAITS AND
REPRODUCTIONS FROM EARLY EDITIONS OF “DON QUIXOTE”
Size Crown 8 vo. 150 pp. Price 3/6 net
PRESS NOTICES
“A popular and accessible account of the career of Cervantes.”--_Daily
Chronicle._
“A very readable and pleasant account of one of the great writers of all
time.”--_Morning Leader._
“Mr. CALVERT is entitled to the gratitude of book-lovers for
his industrious devotion at one of our greatest literary
shrines.”--_Birmingham Post._
“It is made trebly interesting by the very complete set of Cervantes’
portraits it contains, and by the inclusion of a valuable
bibliography.”--_Black and White._
“We recommend the book to all those to whom Cervantes is more than a
mere name.”--_Westminster Gazette._
“A most interesting résumé of all facts up to the present time
known.”--_El Nervion de Bilbao, Spain._
“The most notable work dedicated to the immortal author of _Don Quixote_
that has been published in England.”--_El Graduador, Spain._
“Although the book is written in English no Spaniard could have written
it with more conscientiousness and enthusiasm.”--_El Defensor de
Granada, Spain._
* * * * *
BY ALBERT F. CALVERT
THE ALHAMBRA
OF GRANADA, BEING A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MOSLEM RULE IN SPAIN FROM THE
REIGN OF MOHAMMED THE FIRST TO THE FINAL EXPULSION OF THE MOORS,
TOGETHER WITH A PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THE CONSTRUCTION, THE ARCHITECTURE
AND THE DECORATION OF THE MOORISH PALACE, WITH 80 COLOURED PLATES AND
NEARLY 300 BLACK AND WHITE ILLUSTRATIONS (NEW EDITION). DEDICATED BY
PERMISSION TO H.M. KING ALFONSO XIII.
Size 10 x 7½. Price £2 2s. net
PRESS NOTICES
“It is hardly too much to say that this is one of the most magnificent
books ever issued from the English Press.”--_Building World._
“One is really puzzled where to begin and when to stop in praising the
illustrations.”--_Bookseller._
“The most complete record of this wonder of architecture which has ever
been contemplated, much less attempted.”--_British Architect._
“A treasure to the student of decorative art.”--_Morning Advertiser._
“Mr. CALVERT has given us a Book Beautiful.”--_Western Daily Press._
“It is the last word on the subject, no praise is too
high.”--_Nottingham Express._
“May be counted among the more important art books which have been
published during recent years.”--_The Globe._
“Has a pride of place that is all its own among the books of the
month.”--_Review of Reviews._
“Has in many respects surpassed any books on the Alhambra which up to
the present have appeared in our own country or abroad.”--_El Graduador,
Spain._
“It is one of the most beautiful books of modern times.”--_Ely Gazette._
“One of the most artistic productions of the year.”--_Publishers’
Circular._
“The most beautiful book on the Alhambra issued in England.”--_Sphere._
“The standard work on a splendid subject.”--_Daily Telegraph._
“A remarkable masterpiece of book production.”--_Eastern Daily Press._
“A perfect treasure of beauty and delight.”--_Keighley News._
“A magnificent work.”--_Melbourne Age, Australia._
“Immense collection of fine plates.”--_The Times._
“A standard work, the compilation of which would credit a life’s
labour.”--_Hull Daily Mail._
* * * * *
BY ALBERT F. CALVERT
MOORISH REMAINS IN SPAIN
BEING A BRIEF RECORD OF THE ARABIAN CONQUEST AND OCCUPATION OF THE
PENINSULA, WITH A PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THE MOHAMMEDAN ARCHITECTURE AND
DECORATION IN THE CITIES OF CORDOVA, SEVILLE AND TOLEDO, WITH MANY
COLOURED PLATES, AND OVER 400 BLACK AND WHITE ILLUSTRATIONS, DIAGRAMS,
ETC., DEDICATED BY PERMISSION TO H.M. KING ALFONSO XIII.
Crown 4to. (7½ × 10 ins.) Price £2 2s. net
PRESS NOTICES
“The making of this book must surely have been a veritable labour of
love; and love’s labour has certainly not been lost.”--_Pall Mall
Gazette._
“The best age of Moorish architecture in Spain is shown with remarkable
vividness and vitality.”--_The Scotsman._
“A most gorgeous book.... We cheerfully admit Mr. CALVERT into the ranks
of those whom posterity will applaud for delightful yet unprofitable
work.”--_Outlook._
“A large and sumptuous volume.”--_Tribune._
“The illustrations are simply marvels of reproduction.”--_Dundee
Advertiser._
“One of the books to which a simple literary review cannot pretend to do
justice.”--_Spectator._
“A special feature of a work of peculiar interest and value are the
illustrations.”--_Newcastle Chronicle._
“The illustrations are given with a minuteness and faithfulness of
detail, and colour, which will be particularly appreciated and
acknowledged by those who are most acquainted with the subject
themselves.”--_Liverpool Post._
“It is impossible to praise too highly the care with which the
illustrations have been prepared.”--_Birmingham Daily Post._
“It is illustrated with so lavish a richness of colour that to turn its
pages gives one at first almost the same impression of splendour as one
receives in wandering from hall to hall of the Alcazar of Seville; and
this is probably the highest compliment we could pay to the book or its
author.”--_Academy._
“It is certainly one of the most interesting books of the
year.”--_Crown._
“The occasional delicacy of design and harmony of colour can scarcely be
surpassed ... a valuable and profusely illustrated volume.”--_Guardian._
“An excellent piece of work.”--_The Times._
“Mr. CALVERT has performed a useful work.”--_Daily Telegraph._
“A truly sumptuous volume.”--_The Speaker._
“Mr. CALVERT has given a very complete account of the evolution of
Moresco art.”--_The Connoisseur._
FOOTNOTES:
[A] This spelling of his name resembles most that used by himself.
[B] The exact contents are as follows:
“AL CARD. FARNESE--Viterbo.
“A’ di 16 di Nouembre, 1570.
“E’ capitato in Roma un giouane Candiotto discepolo di Titiano, che
á mio giuditio parmi raro nella pittura; e fra l’altre cose egli ha
fatto un ritratto da se stesso, che fa stupire tutti questi Pittori di
Roma. Io vorrei tratenerlo sotto l’ombra de V.S. Illma. et Revma. senza
spesa altra del vivere, ma solo de una stanza nell Palazzo Farnese per
qualche poco di tempo, cioé per fin che egli si venghi ad accomodare
meglio. Pero La prego et supplico sia contenta di scrivere al Conte
Lodovico suo Maiordomo, che lo provegghi nel detto Palazzo di qualche
stanza ad alto; che V.S. Illma. fará un’ opera virtuosa degna di Lei, e
io gliene terro obligo. Et le bascio con reverenza le mani.
“Di V.S. Illma. et Revma. humilissimo servitore.
“JULIO CLOVIO.”
[C] The record of his burial, discovered by Señor de Beruete in the
register of the parish church of Santo Tomé, is brief: “Libro de
entierros de Santo Tomé de 1601-1614, en siete del Abril del 1614
falescio Domeniko Greco. No hizo testamento, recibo los sacramentos, en
teroso en Santo Domingo el Antigua.”
[D] Two judges were appointed to settle the dispute, which arose from
the introduction of the three Marys into the picture. The Chapter
objected to their presence. El Greco’s defence was characteristic
enough--What did it matter? and, besides, the women were a long way
off. The judges disagreed; whereupon the dispute was settled by Alezo
de Montoyo as follows:
“Having seen the said painting which has been executed by the said
Domeniko, and the appraisements of the judge appointed by both parties,
and other persons who understand the said painting, its execution and
admirable finish; and the reasons which the said judges have given;
and seeing that the said painting is one of the best that I have seen;
and that, if it were to be estimated for all its valuable qualities,
it would be valued at a much higher sum, which but few would care to
pay for it; but, in view of the nature of the times and the price paid
generally for the paintings of great artists in Castile; and in view
of, and taking into consideration all the above and all other points
that were necessary, I find that I must order, and I do order, that for
the said painting the said Garcia de Loaysa, in the name of the said
Holy Church, shall give and pay to the said Domeniko Theotokopuli three
thousand and five hundred reals: and above this sum the said Domeniko
Theotokopuli cannot ask, nor must he ask, for anything more for the
said painting; and as regards the judges for the said workers, they
say that it is improper for the Marys to be introduced into the story;
as regards this I am sending the declaration of it to some theologians
versed in such matters, that they may decide upon it.”
[E] This is another rendering of the same picture; and still another is
in the collection of Señor de Beruete, Madrid.
[F] This picture passed into the collection of the Infanta Doña Isabel
Farnese, and is now in the Museo del Prado. The ‘Assumption’ in the
Church of Santo Domingo el Antigua is a poor copy of the original
picture.
[G] The picture was painted for the altar of St. Maurice, but it was
rejected by Philip II., and the commission given to a third-rate
Italian. To-day the picture hangs in the Sala Capitulare.
[H] This likeness is more striking even in another ‘Coronation of the
Virgin,’ by El Greco, in the collection of Colonel P. Bosch, Madrid.
[I] Some authorities name these saints Sta. Inez and Sta. Feda.