Talks & Conversations

Black, White, and All the Reds In Between

Toward a Critical Theory of Color in Medieval Arabic Architecture
A castle-like compound surrounded by trees with mountains in the background.

Dawn over the Alhambra, c. 2014, Creative Commons License

Dawn over the Alhambra, c. 2014, Creative Commons License

Color played an integral role in the philosophical framework of medieval Islamic aesthetics. This talk, part of a larger project aimed at developing a critical theory of color in medieval architecture of the Middle East and North Africa, will focus on color’s tactility and its communicative potential as supported in scientific and philosophical literature of the time.

About Abbey Stockstill

Abbey Stockstill is associate professor of Islamic art and architecture at Southern Methodist University and currently Paul Mellon Senior Fellow (2024–2025) at the National Gallery’s Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts.

Sign language interpreters are available for this program. Please call 202.737.4215 or email [email protected] two weeks in advance for a request. Learn more about our accessibility services.

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