Folio (553 x 380 mm), 25 tinted lithographed plates by Lewis, lithographed title with vignette, as published loose in modern cardboard sleeve, occasional spotting (heavier in title margins), Hodgsong & Graves, s.d. London, first edition, [1835].

Synopsis

RARE. Lewis was one of the the first British artists to capture the beauty of Spanish life, dedicating nearly an entire decade (1832-40) to Iberian themes. The celebrated art critic John Ruskin held Lewis in the highest esteem, describing him as “the painter of greatest power, next to Turner, of the English school” and his book Elements of Drawing goes on to say ‘Let no lithographic work come into your house, nor even look at any, except Prout’s and sketches of Lewis’s.’
The lithographs were printed on the press of Hullmandel, one of the originators of the process, and represent some of the best examples of the lithographic technique using a tintstone.
The plates comprise:
1- (Vignette from title page. The Fountain of Lions).
2- The Alhambra from the Albaycin.
3- Puerta de Justicia.
4- Puerta del Vino.
5- Sierra Nevada and Part of the Alhambra / from the Adarves.
6- Casa de Francisco Sanchez.
7- Patio de los Arrayanes.
8- (Patio de los Arrayanes & Palace of Carlos V).
9- Patio de los Arrayanes & Torre de Comares.
10- Entrance to the Hall of Ambassadors.
11- Window in the Hall of Ambassadors.
12- Door of the Hall of Ambassadors.
13- Torre de Comares.
14- Entrance to the Banos.
15- Sala de las dos Hermanas
16- (Entrance to the Sala de las dos Hermanas).
17- Patio de los Leones.
18- Entrance to the hall of the Abencerrages.
19- Sala de los Abencerrages.
20- Patio de los Leones.
21- Patio de los Leones from the Hall of the Abencerrages.
22- Entrance to the Mosque.
23- Patio de la Mesquita.
24- Casa de Chapu.
26- Alhambra from the Alameda del Darro.
Bibliographic references: Creswell 358; Palau 137 225. Abbey Travel, 1, 148. Tesoros de Espana 123. Robertson: (1975) p.262 & illustrations (1988) p.234. Alberich 1495. Twyman p.210; Lipperheide, 1221.