The Lost Golden Room Courtyard Gallery in the Alhambra: Sources, Graphic Analysis and Digital Reconstruction

Abstract

The palatial architecture of the Nasrid Alhambra in Granada was organized around courtyards that have been restored or transformed over the centuries. This research analyzes and graphically recreates a wooden gallery that was built in the Patio del Cuarto Dorado (Courtyard of the Golden Room) by the Catholic Monarchs, which disappeared around 1872. The methodology is based on the compilation of documentary sources and graphic analysis as the basis for new manual and digital drawings. Although no archival documentation detailing its construction or demolition has been identified, a large set of historical images (plans, views, and photographs) has been gathered, analyzed, and arranged chronologically. From these, freehand sketches were drawn to understand its construction elements, using other preserved galleries as a reference. Using this graphic documentation and measurements of the current courtyard, scale drawings were made. All of this allowed for the creation of a reconstructed digital model, the digital fabrication of a small-scale model, and the development of new representational graphics using advanced media. In this way, the aim is to understand and introduce the gallery that occupied this courtyard for centuries, offering a new view of the complex transformations of an architectural complex included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

1. Introduction

1.1. Brief Historical and Architectural Data

1.1.1. The Nasrid Alhambra and the Mexuar

The Alhambra symbolizes the apex of the Kingdom of Granada and a refined architecture that has surprisingly survived for centuries, restored or transformed. Its complex is now part of UNESCO’s World Heritage List [1].

In the palatine citadel of the Alhambra, elevated above the landscape of the city of Granada, the Nasrid palaces wisely adapted to the topography of the site and the needs of the time, integrating resources from nature and art [2]. The main architectural strategy used was the courtyards, which were usually juxtaposed and had an axis of symmetry. The main palaces and courtyards were grouped in the so-called Old Royal House, where three zones can be distinguished running west to east, from the most public to the most private: the Mexuar, the Comares Palace, and the Palace of the Lions [3,4,5].

The Mexuar, which was the most public area of the palace according to an Arabic text by Ibn al-Jatib (1362), was accessed through two courtyards [6]. From there, one passed to a courtyard later called the Golden Room (Figure 1 and Figure 2), where the Comares Façade is located, serving as an entrance to the Comares Palace, the official seat of executive power with ceremonial functions. Adjacent to this is the Palace of the Lions, the site of the sultans’ private life.

The primitive constructions of the Mexuar were remodeled by Yusuf I (1318–1354) and Muhammad V (1339–1391). The Courtyard of the Golden Room, also called the Courtyard of the Mosque, has an arcade on its north façade with two columns plus two engaged half-columns (Figure 3a). To the South of this courtyard, Muhammad V built the Comares Façade after the conquest of Algeciras in 1369. It is raised three steps, rich in ornamentation, and crowned by a cornice of muqarnas and large wooden eaves. (Figure 3b). It bears a functional and formal similarity to the façade of the Palace of Pedro I in the courtyard of the Montería of the Real Alcázar of Seville [7], built shortly before. The sultan would administer justice there in close contact with his subjects. A door in the eastern façade gave access to a lower level, which had military functions and was used by the guard corps to ensure security.

1.1.2. The Alhambra and the Courtyard of the Golden Room Transformed by the Catholic Monarchs

In 1431, after King John II entered the Vega of Granada in the famous Battle of Higueruela, two major earthquakes occurred near the city. They had magnitudes of about 6.5 and 6.8 and caused the collapse of walls and towers [8,9]. The serious decline of the Nasrid reign would prevent the necessary repairs. When Granada was occupied by the Christians in 1492, Nasrid art had already passed its prime for a century, and the architecture of the Alhambra was in a very poor state [10].

The Catholic Monarchs (King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella) ordered the Alhambra to be repaired and preserved as a ‘memory and trophy’ [11] (p. 74). A Decree addressed by King Ferdinand the Catholic to the Council of Seville on 12 February 1492, indicated the need for qualified workers for the delicate work of urgent restoration of the palaces [10]. Furthermore, according to documents from the Archive of the Crown of Aragon, on 13 March 1492, King Ferdinand claimed the presence in the Alhambra of artisans who worked in the Aljafería Palace in Zaragoza [12]. The monarch himself would supervise those initial works.

As stated by the testimony of the traveler Jerónimo Münzer in 1494 [13] (pp. 40–41), many royal places and sites that were in ruins, such as the Generalife, were being restored or rebuilt. In 1495, work on the convent of San Francisco on a Nasrid palace was completed [14]. Queen Isabella was buried there in 1504 and King Ferdinand in 1516, until their transfer to the Royal Chapel of Granada in 1521 [15] (p. 154).

According to a letter from the Count of Tendilla addressed to the King in 1511, the ruin threatened the entire Royal House of the Alhambra. [16] (v. 2, p. 21). A document from Queen Juana, written in 1515, expressed her desire to preserve it in good condition [17] (p. 145). In those years, important reconstruction works were undertaken on the towers and walls of the citadel, directed by Master Ramiro, Captain of Artillery. In addition, new bastions with a semicircular layout were built to face the new artillery threats and new cisterns to guarantee the water supply in the event of a hypothetical siege.

These interventions maintained a degree of continuity with the existing architecture [18], particularly in the construction techniques employed [16] (v. 1, p. 41). However, both the Catholic Monarchs and Emperor Charles V altered the Nasrid palaces to adapt them to their own uses and customs. They disrupted the functional autonomy of the Mexuar, the Palace of Comares, and the Palace of the Lions to create the so-called Old Royal House.

The rooms located next to the Patio del Cuarto Dorado, which in Nasrid times were part of a public administrative area, were reused as Queen Isabella’s private apartment, and the Mexuar became a chapel. The work was carried out by workers brought by King Ferdinand. The royal emblems are still preserved in the coffered ceiling and in the window overlooking the Darro River. This place came to be called the Cuarto Dorado (Golden Room) because nearly three thousand loaves or sheets of gold were used as coverings, whose gilders are cited in a document from the Simancas Archive (CSR, Leg. 44, n° 28, Fols. 15–44) [19] (p. 10).

Around 1500, a wooden cantilevered gallery was built on the upper floor—the subject of this research—connecting the rooms above the Golden Room with those behind the Comares Façade. Furthermore, between 1537 and 1544, other works were carried out on the upper floor of the Mexuar for its new use as the Governors’ Room [19] (pp. 60, 114).

1.2. Previous Reference Research

1.2.1. Documents on the Works of the Catholic Monarchs in the Alhambra

Various scholars have located and published original documents on the works of the Catholic Monarchs at the Alhambra. Among them, the Guide to Granada published in 1892 by Manuel Gómez Moreno (1834–1918) is worth mentioning [16]. It compiled all the data he had consulted in the Alhambra Archive. The brothers José Oliver Hurtado (1827–1887) and Manuel Oliver Hurtado (1831–1892) also published transcripts from this archive in 1875 [20] similar to those of Gómez Moreno. More imprecise seem the data that Rafael Contreras y Muñoz (c. 1826–1890), restorer of the monument, included in his book of 1878 [21]. Furthermore, some documents cited by Juan Facundo Riaño (1829–1901) in the 19th century [22,23] allowed Matilde Casares to analyze payments ordered by Queen Isabella in 1498-99 [19], including names and surnames, works carried out, as well as their cost.

Another 20th-century author who used original documents for his publications on the Alhambra was Luis Seco de Lucena Escalada (1857–1941) [24,25]. Also worth mentioning are the numerous publications by the architect Leopoldo Torres Balbás (1888–1960), who restored the monument between 1923 and 1936, combining his historical knowledge with data from his important architectural and archaeological interventions [10,11,26].

At the end of the 20th century, Earl E. Rosenthal (1921–2007) reviewed all the available documentation on the works of the palace of Charles V [27] from 1532 onwards, and the book by Antonio Fernández Puertas (1950–2016) on the Façade of Comares [7] analyzed historical and archaeological aspects, providing comparative references. Furthermore, the thesis by Rafael López Guzmán (1958–), on the civil architecture of the 16th century in Granada, includes an initial synthesis on outstanding documentary sources [28] (pp. 2–10).

On the other hand, an article by García Granados and Trillo Sanjosé provides general data on the cost of the works carried out by the Catholic Monarchs on buildings and fortresses in the Kingdom and in the Alhambra between 1492 and 1495, according to documents from the General Archive of Simancas [29]. Also worth highlighting is the extensive research on the Catholic Monarchs published by Rafael Domínguez Casas [30], which reviews documents on the payments for the transformations of the surroundings of the Mexuar, especially on its upper floor [31] (pp. 93–109). Equally interesting is the book by Juan Antonio Vilar on the Catholic Monarchs in the Alhambra, from 1492 to 1500, with data up to 1505 [32] and an extensive documentary annex, plus another book on the military architecture of the citadel [33]. A recent article by Marta Rodríguez Iturriaga has analyzed the royal works in the 15th and 16th centuries in relation to the current view of the landscape from the interior spaces of the monument [34].

As stated above, the reviewed archival documentation provides general data on the costs of the Catholic Monarchs’ works at the Alhambra, but little information on the details or the scope of improvements. No descriptive documentation has been found on the wooden gallery, the subject of this article, which disappeared around 1872. Therefore, this research seeks to advance our understanding of this work using a new graphic methodology.

1.2.2. The Conservation of the Patio Del Cuarto Dorado in the 19th and 20th Centuries

After centuries of neglect, starting in the 19th century, major restoration works were directed by the Contreras dynasty on the Alhambra: José, Rafael, and Mariano; father, son, and grandson. For information on the work carried out in the first half of the 19th century, see Juan Manuel Barrios Rozúa’s book, which provides an understanding of the heritage context, although it does not provide relevant data on the lost gallery [35]. For information on the restoration work carried out in the second half of the 19th century, see José Manuel Rodríguez-Domingo’s 1996 doctoral thesis [36] and Francisco Serrano Espinosa’s 2014 thesis on the Contreras family [37]. There is also an article by Antonio Orihuela on the restoration of the plinths in the Hall of the Kings [38] also provides information about the Comares Façade.

Rafael Contreras undertook numerous architectural and decorative conservations, which altered the authenticity of the monument and would be inadmissible according to current scientific restoration criteria. Among the data on his works, a document dated 22 April 1872 has been found in the Alhambra Archive, mentioning the agreement of the Granada Monuments Commission to eliminate the wooden gallery in the Patio de la Mezquita or Patio del Cuarto Dorado and the modern windows added to the Comares Façade [37] (p. 354) (Figure 4).

In 1907, architect Modesto Cendoya (1856–1938) replaced the Contreras dynasty. Between 1910 and 1914, he undertook work around the Patio del Cuarto Dorado, such as restoring the wooden eaves of the Comares Façade, consolidating the walls, and restoring the flooring to its original state [39] (pp. 141–144).

Between 1923 and 1936, Leopoldo Torres Balbás succeeded him as the Alhambra’s conservation architect. In contrast to the ornamental conservation of his predecessors, he advocated scientific conservation, in accordance with the principles of the Charter of Athens. He adopted and implemented the criteria of the Monument Conservation Plan drafted by Ricardo Velázquez Bosco in 1917 [40] for the archaeological, architectural, and landscape restoration of the monumental complex [22].

According to his detailed work diary, Torres Balbás worked on the Governors’ quarters, next to the Patio del Cuarto Dorado, from 1923 onwards [41] (p. 76). In March 1924, excavations were carried out in the Mexuar, and the beams of the chapel’s choir stalls were dismantled [42] (pp. 91, 111). In 1925, the altar was dismantled, and other work was undertaken [43]. From 1927 onwards, the west wall of the Patio del Cuarto Dorado was cleaned; the gaps where the Nasrid eaves had been embedded were discovered and replaced; wooden beams on the upper floor were replaced with metal joists, and the damaged roofs over the Cuarto Dorado and the oratory of the Mexuar were dismantled [44] (pp. 123–125).

At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Torres Balbás was replaced by the architect Francisco Prieto-Moreno y Pardo (1907–1985) [45], who held the position until 1978, consolidating the general lines of scientific restoration of his predecessor. Among his works, it is worth highlighting the demolition of the Christian wall of the northern front of the Patio del Cuarto Dorado in 1965, in an attempt to recover the original state of this place [46,47].

1.2.3. About 16th-Century Spanish Domestic Architecture and Its Wooden Galleries

To delve deeper into the subject studied here, various publications on 16th-century residential architecture in Spain have also been reviewed—as a reference—considering their wooden patios and galleries on upper floors.

First, it is worth mentioning some Nasrid houses in the Albaicín district of Granada, above which high wooden galleries were built. On this subject, see the doctoral thesis by Rafael López Guzmán [28], who cataloged 258 civil buildings in Granada in the 16th century, and the book by Antonio Orihuela Uzal [14], which analyzed important Nasrid houses and palaces. A notable example is the Casa del Chapiz, composed of two houses with their own patio, whose upper-floor galleries were built of wood, mixing Renaissance, Nasrid, and Gothic formal elements. Likewise, in the Casa Morisca on Horno de Oro Street, an upper gallery open on its eastern side was added in the 16th century, with wooden posts, bearing blocks, cantilever beams, and balustrades.

A book edited by Elena Diez studies the organization of domestic life in the 15th and 16th centuries [48], and another book edited by Elena Diez and Antonio Orihuela focuses on Granada and Malaga [49]. In Seville, María Núñez González’s book has studied hundreds of 16th-century houses drawn from literary descriptions or surveys, many with galleries [50]. A recent article by Pilar Moya and María Núñez studies and virtually recreates a cantilevered gallery that existed in the former Jewish quarter of Seville, on what is now Ximénez de Enciso Street [51].

Regarding Toledo, the inventory of houses (based on documents from the years 1491–1492) included in Jean Passini’s book can be consulted [52]. The wooden balustrade of the Hospital del Nuncio in that city, from the late 15th century, can be compared to the case of the Alhambra studied here (Figure 5a). Furthermore, the projecting pieces of the eaves of the Posada de la Santa Hermandad, a photograph of which appears in an article by Leopoldo Torres Balbás on Nasrid eaves, bear a certain similarity [53]. Another article by the same author shows various ornaments on other similar pieces of wood [54].

The wooden corbels of one of the halls of the Archbishop’s Palace in Zaragoza also bear a certain similarity to the gallery of the Patio del Cuarto Dorado. The decoration of this corbel was promoted around 1500 by Archbishop Alonso de Aragón (1478–1520), illegitimate son of King Ferdinand [55] (Figure 5b).

Furthermore, in traditional Spanish architecture [56,57] there is a wide diversity of formal variants in brackets, timber balustrade, bearing blocks, and other wooden pieces, as for example occurs in a cantilevered gallery on the upper floor in Comillas (Santander) (Figure 6).

For this research, other references have also been reviewed, such as the Wood Collection of the Alhambra Board [58]; historical treatises on wooden construction, such as that of Diego López de Arenas in 1633 [59]; or books on carpentry by Enrique Nuere [60]. Sketches by Leopoldo Torres Balbás, around 1910–1930, have been located in the General Archive of the Region of Murcia, with construction details used in this type of traditional architecture: overhangs (PSM, 10225/087) and other wooden elements in the Alhambra, Segovia, Tangier, and Seville (PSM, 10225/069) (Figure 7).

1.2.4. About the Historical Images of the Alhambra

Adequate graphic documentation is essential for understanding, promoting, and preserving architectural heritage, according to the recommendations of ICOMOS in 1966 [61]. The collection and analysis of images from the past (plans, views, and photographs, etc.) allows us to understand the ‘graphic life’ of architectural heritage [62]. In the event of its disappearance, its intangible values can be safeguarded if there are graphic documents that allow a rigorous digital or physical reconstruction [63].

These graphic documents provide information about the authors’ perceptions, as well as about their interests or abilities, depending on their training or the graphic technique used. Sometimes, the images have an artistic value independent of what they represent and constitute a graphic heritage in and of themselves. Their analysis allows us to understand architectural transformations over time, taking into account other data about their context, history, construction, archaeology, etc. This makes it possible to understand differences between what was drawn and what was built, as well as unexecuted transformations or proposals.

Antonio Gámiz Gordo’s doctoral thesis brought together all kinds of architectural images of the Alhambra grouped into three scales: territory, city, and architectural forms [64]. Among the abundant plans of the monument, it is worth highlighting the so-called ‘large plan’ that around 1532 represented a large part of the citadel to establish the palace of Charles V [65]; the plans published by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid in 1787 and 1804 [66,67]; the drawings by Owen Jones and Jules Goury published in 1842-44 [68,69]; and the plates included in the ‘Architectural Monuments’ also published by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in the 19th century [70].

Furthermore, it is worth highlighting the interest of the Archive of Plans of the Alhambra, which at the end of the 20th century had more than five thousand plans, today available on the website of The Alhambra and Generalife Trust [71]. According to notes included in its index, it was created in 1951 at the initiative of Jesús Bermúdez Pareja [64] (pp. 230–233). Most of the plans were made by the conservation architects and draftsmen of the Alhambra Board of Trustees themselves, in their conservation and restoration work from the Technical Office. It includes plans by Modesto Cendoya, Ricardo Velázquez Bosco, Leopoldo Torres Balbás, Francisco Prieto Moreno [71], and projects by other technicians, research work, and more plans of buildings in the city or other monuments. All of them were assigned a consecutive number as they became part of the Archive.

Also of great interest is the extensive graphic documentation included in the book of the Special Plan of the Alhambra of 1986, which was written under the direction of José Seguí Pérez [72] and which is not found in the Archive of Plans of the Alhambra, as well as the recent photogrammetric surveys by Antonio Almagro Gorbea available on the website of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando [73].

As for views of the Courtyard of the Golden Room in the Alhambra, it is worth highlighting the lithographs published by John Frederick Lewis in 1835 [74,75], the images by Harriet Ford [76], Asselineau [77], and others by artists mentioned later.

In the mid-19th century, the Alhambra became the object of attention of numerous photographers who commercialized their images [78] following the proliferation of this technique [79,80]. The photographs of the wooden gallery of the Patio del Cuarto Dorado prior to its demolition around 1872 corroborate the veracity of earlier drawings and are fundamental for the graphic reconstruction undertaken here. Also worth highlighting is Antonio Fernández Puertas’ book ‘La Fachada del Cuarto de Comares’ [7], which compiles 52 plates with plans and photographs of the Patio del Cuarto Dorado and other architectural examples considered as references.

1.2.5. About the Graphic Reconstruction of Lost Heritage

Regarding digital visualization in cultural heritage research and dissemination, it is important to consider the London Charter of 2006 [81], which establishes general principles to promote scientific and technical rigor in digital reconstructions. In each case, the most appropriate principles and methods should be used to achieve the proposed objectives, clarifying the level of certainty and the degree of accuracy of the reconstruction. Special attention to documentary sources is recommended, and therefore, this research undertakes a broad collection and analysis of historical images that are necessary to document and understand the transformations of the studied model.

To further explore the London Charter and improve its application to the digital visualization of archaeological heritage, more detailed postulates were formulated, included in the 2012 Seville Principles and ratified by the 19th ICOMOS General Assembly, held in New Delhi in December 2017 [82]. They emphasize the importance of interdisciplinarity; therefore, this research addresses architectural, historical, graphic, and archaeological heritage issues. Regarding the visualization of original elements that have disappeared, the importance of authenticity is emphasized, so as to recognize the degree of certainty of the reconstruction. The real and the authentic must be differentiated from any hypothesis. The final quality of the digital visualization will depend on the rigor of the reconstruction process and not only on the attractiveness of the result. The reconstruction must be supported by solid research, and the elements studied must not appear decontextualized. Therefore, this work analyzes the different images of the wooden gallery considering its surroundings.

It should be noted that there is a vast bibliography on the digital reconstruction of lost architectural heritage with very diverse methodologies, depending on the case studies. Among many other publications, it is worth highlighting an article that clarifies and defines concepts, functions, fields of application, and methodologies in 2021, in order to avoid a false sense of reality and preserve the reliability of the original content [83]. Another interesting article analyzes the new possibilities generated by emerging technologies, with a bibliographic analysis of 133 scientific publications on virtual reconstruction between 2001 and 2023 [84]. Also of interest are a book that brought together various experiences and case studies in 2023 [85], as well as the articles published in 2025 in a special section of the journal Virtual Archaeology Review entitled ‘Computer-based Visualization of Architectural Cultural Heritage’ [86]. Furthermore, several articles in the EGA journal undertake virtual reconstructions from historical graphic documentation [87,88], highlighting the interest of spatial restitution for the history of art [89], while others address the geometric process of reconstruction [90].

As a background to the virtual recreation of the Alhambra and other Andalusian architecture, it is worth highlighting the numerous photogrammetric surveys by Antonio Almagro Gorbea available on the website of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid [73] and the book by Ana Almagro Vidal that shows the spaces of Andalusian palatine architecture through infographics [91]. Also worth mentioning is a recent documentary entitled ‘Alhambra: the treasure of the last Andalusian emirate’ directed by French filmmaker Marc Jampolsky and produced by Canal Arte and RTVE [92], with digital reconstructions that aim to offer an immersive view of the Alhambra. These images do not take into account the missing wooden gallery of the Courtyard of the Golden Room.

2. Objectives and Methodology

The Alhambra preserves a wide legacy of historical images produced by diverse authors, which, beginning in the sixteenth century, provide valuable information about its architectural transformations. Together with other historical or archaeological sources, and always in consideration of the present reality, these images are of great interest for heritage research.

The main objective of this study is to document and graphically analyze the now-lost wooden gallery of the Courtyard of the Golden Room, compiling and assessing all types of historical images in order to undertake a graphic reconstruction and offer a rigorous digital recreation. A specific objective is also to analyze the main architectural transformations of the courtyard and its surroundings, highlighting the value of the lost gallery to foster a broader heritage understanding of this singular element of the Alhambra.

To this end, a meticulous survey of all significant images of the Courtyard of the Golden Room (plans, perspectives, photographs, etc.) was first carried out. Although some of these have been reproduced in previous studies, until now they had never been gathered and analyzed as a whole. Data concerning the context of each image were also considered, taking into account its technique, scale, and the training, skills, or interests of its author. Any image invariably responds to certain personal intentions, with varying degrees of accuracy in representing reality. Each type of image offers a specific kind of documentary information; for instance, scale drawings allow for precise measurements, while views, perspectives, or photographs are more readily understood by the observer. Moreover, some historical images constitute a source of visual pleasure and possess a certain artistic value. Finally, the images were arranged chronologically, from the sixteenth century to the present day, in order to assess their documentary significance. The search for images was based on previous research already cited [64], which compiled nearly ten thousand images of the Alhambra between the 16th and 20th centuries from a wide variety of sources.

Based on the study of these images and other references, sketches were produced to help us understand the forms of construction details. Subsequently, using existing drawings and on-site measurements, precise orthographic projections—plans, elevations, and sections—of the patio were obtained. Historical photographs showing the notches where the beams of the gallery and its roof were set provided the basis for sizing and drawing its general section. The details were completed using historical drawings and photographs, as well as by considering other similar surviving examples. Finally, a digital model of the gallery and a small physical mock-up were created to aid visualization, incorporating lighting and material textures.

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Outstanding Historical Images

3.1.1. Early Plans of the Sixteenth and Eighteenth Centuries

In the Library of the Royal Palace of Madrid, there is an anonymous plan of the Alhambra, dated around 1532, known as the traza grande [large plan] because of its considerable size, 1307 × 669 mm [3,61]. It was intended for the implantation of the new Renaissance palace promoted by Charles V during his stay in Granada in 1526. This is the earliest known plan of the Nasrid palaces of the Alhambra, and it includes details of great documentary value.

In the Courtyard of the Golden Room (Figure 8a), the vertical pillars of the upper-story wooden gallery were drawn, as well as the small door opened on the side of the Comares Façade. The number of wooden pillars represented does not correspond with those actually built, according to preserved archaeological remains and later graphic documents. In addition, the new wall built in front of the north portico was depicted, and in the northwest corner a staircase—still extant in the nineteenth century [75] —was shown, although without its steps. The rooms labeled as nuebo [new] corresponded to the upper floor of the Mexuar. In the chamber marked as ‘mirador sobre Darro’, the start of a staircase now lost was drawn. Another label indicates that this was the lodging of Empress Isabella of Portugal, wife of Charles V. These rooms were later used by the governors of the Alhambra and remained in use into the nineteenth century.

Between 1766 and 1767, rigorous plans of the Nasrid palaces were produced and later published by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in 1787 [66,67,93]. The elements represented in the Courtyard of the Golden Room are consistent with the sixteenth-century traza grande: the wall next to the north portico and the staircase in the northwest corner are present, with added details of openings, but without representation of the upper-story wooden gallery (Figure 8b).

3.1.2. Nineteenth-Century Images

Among the views produced by artists and travelers who visited and drew the Alhambra in the nineteenth century, special mention should be made of the twenty-six lithographs published in 1835 by the young English painter John Frederick Lewis (1804–1876) [74,75]. These were highly precise and faithful to reality, illustrating the lamentable state of neglect of the monument at that time. In plate 21, entitled ‘Entrance to the Mosque’ (Figure 9a), the north front of the Courtyard of the Golden Room is depicted, with the elements added in the sixteenth century: at the upper right appears the wooden gallery with its projecting beams, to the left the volume that housed the staircase represented in the previously discussed plans, as well as the wall built in front of the portico.

In plate 22, entitled Patio de la Mesquita (Figure 9b), a view is provided towards the Comares Façade, with one of its two doors blocked and the lower part of its ornamentation missing. To the left, beneath the wooden gallery, a large opening is shown that no longer exists today, while in the courtyard, several figures together with two donkeys illustrate the deteriorated and casual use of the monument.

In the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, one of John Frederick Lewis’s original drawings of the Courtyard of the Golden Room is preserved [94] (Figure 10a). It has a framing similar to that of the lithograph, repeating details of the west façade, with the staircase in the courtyard and the opening towards the Mexuar, but without including the upper-story wooden gallery.

At the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, there is a beautiful unfinished drawing entitled The Court of the Mosque, which shows the Comares Façade from the upper-story wooden gallery (Figure 10b). It is of great documentary value and would later be copied and completed by Harriet Ford.

Between 1830 and 1833, the Englishman Richard Ford (1796–1858) traveled through Spain and produced hundreds of views to preserve the memory of the places he visited, at a time when photography did not yet exist [95]. During his stay in Granada, he lodged with his family in the Governor’s Quarters and made a sketch of the distribution of the rooms they occupied on the upper floor of the Mexuar, adjacent to the Courtyard of the Golden Room [76,96] (Figure 11a).

His wife, Harriet Ford, was also a draughtswoman and produced an interesting view of the Comares Façade from the wooden gallery, with its details carefully represented in the foreground. This view was based on the beautiful, unfinished drawing by John Frederick Lewis mentioned above. Lewis was a friend of the Fords and stayed with them in Seville, where Harriet copied some of his drawings [75] (Figure 11b).

In 1834, the architects Owen Jones (1809–1874) and Jules Goury (1803–1834) visited the Alhambra. That same year, Goury died of cholera, and Jones continued the work on his own, returning to Granada in 1837. In 1842 and 1845, the two volumes of his monumental work [68] were published, introducing the novel use of color through the technique of chromolithography [69]. The work includes more than one hundred drawings, almost all of them plans, elevations, sections, and details, along with a few perspective views added as small vignettes.

In plate 23, entitled Patio de la Mezquita, an imaginary reconstruction of the Comares Façade was carried out (Figure 12a), completing the lost ornamentation in the lower part and proposing three identical upper windows that do not correspond with other drawings or with the later reconstruction. In the accompanying text, it is stated that the façade was disfigured by the clumsy construction of a modern gallery and that the courtyard had been turned into a chicken yard. In addition, next to the text appears a small vignette of the patio, similar to that of Lewis, though less detailed. Plate 24, dated 1837, bears the same title and details the section, elevation, and plan of the muqarnas cornice and the Nasrid eaves of the Comares Façade (Figure 12b).

In 1853, the work entitled L’Alhambra [77] was published, including in plate IX a beautiful colored view titled Cour de la Mosqueé, drawn and lithographed by Jean Auguste Asselineau (1808–1889) (Figure 13a). In the background appears the Comares Façade, while in the foreground, the interior of the north portico is shown. As in Lewis’s view, the upper-story wooden gallery was precisely drawn, as well as the missing ornamentation in the lower part of the façade, and one of its openings closed up. On the right, in the west façade, a large opening towards the Mexuar appears that is not visible in other views. On the left, in the east façade, the access opening to the lower levels was drawn smaller. The scene was completed with several figures and with the basin of a fountain at the center of the courtyard, which did not exist and does not appear in other images of those years.

Another important collection of plans of the Alhambra was published as loose plates in the series Monumentos Arquitectónicos de España (1852–1881), by the Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid. These were based on drawings by students of the School of Architecture, created in 1844, as exercises during their study trips. According to the responsible Commission, established in 1856, the intention was to disseminate, in a luxury publication with plates of the highest quality, the principal monuments of Spain [70,93].

Among the original drawings preserved in the Royal Academy, one of great interest is entitled Façade in the Patio de la Mezquita in the Alhambra (MA/196), signed by Francisco Antonio Contreras Muñoz (Figure 13b). This was the preparatory drawing for the later etching by Francisco Pérez Baquero, published in 1869. Not all the ornamentation was represented so that the engraver could complete the repetitive elements. What was drawn was a hypothesis or proposal for the restoration of the deteriorated façade. In the lower areas, where the tiled dado had completely disappeared, a new one was drawn similar to that proposed by Jones and Goury, but different from the one executed in the restoration by Rafael Contreras [38]. The form of the upper windows differs from that of the drawing by Jones and Goury and coincides with the restoration later carried out.

Among the professional photographers who visited the Alhambra around the mid-nineteenth century and took views of the Courtyard of the Golden Room for commercial purposes, Jean Jules Andrieu (1816–1872), active in Paris between 1860 and 1876, stands out [79]. Among the nearly three hundred stereoscopic views of Spain included in his 1868 catalog, number 2554 is titled Cour de la chapelle aus palais de l’Alhambra (Figure 14). It has great documentary value for this research because it clearly shows the wooden gallery of the Courtyard of the Golden Room, which disappeared shortly afterward. The sections of the gallery nearest to the Comares Façade appear closed up, most likely due to their deteriorated state of preservation and to prevent the collapse of the upper roof. Beneath the gallery, there appears a door that no longer exists today. This photograph facilitates the understanding of many details and allows for assessing the accuracy of earlier drawings.

Juan Laurent (1816–1886) was one of the most important photographers who marketed their images in Spain during the nineteenth century. Over almost thirty years, he created a vast photographic archive, whose negatives are preserved today in the Ruiz Vernacci Archive of the Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute. In Granada, he produced more than 400 high-quality plates between 1857 and 1887 [97]. Among them, the photograph titled 245. Patio de la Mezquita (Figure 15a) confirms the deterioration of the Comares Façade, especially in its lower part, where the tiled dado had disappeared. Above, one can see the junction of the wooden gallery with the façade and the added modern woodwork. Those sections of the gallery appear blocked with partition walls in order to shore up and control the structural deformations of the upper wooden roof structure.

Another photograph by Laurent, 1481. Patio de la Mezquita, shows the state of the façade after Rafael Contreras’s restoration (Figure 15b), with the new tiled dado and new windows. However, even after those works, a significant sag in the upper wooden eaves remained visible, which had to be restored in the early twentieth century.

One of the last photographs prior to the demolition of the wooden gallery was part of a collection marketed by G. W. Wilson & Co., with 52 titles (numbers 60,107–60,157), whose author would have been J. H. Mann around 1870–71 [98] (p. 153). In photograph 60,144, which shows the north front of the Courtyard of the Golden Room, a wooden pillory to immobilize prisoners appears on the ground (Figure 16a). In the same collection, there is another interesting photograph of the place (no. 60,145).

A similar view by the important painter Mariano Fortuny, who resided in Granada between 1870 and 1872, was recreated in one of his finest oil paintings, The Tribunal of the Alhambra (1871), today preserved in the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation [99] (p. 157) (Figure 16b). In the foreground, the small central fountain includes a beautiful reflection, and there is strong illumination on the north wall. At the upper right appears the wooden gallery that had been blocked. In the middle ground, the interior portico is detailed; further back, there are beautiful doors and a tiled dado that did not exist; and at the far end, the window of the Golden Room. The protagonists of the scene are figures lying down and held in a pillory similar to that in the aforementioned photograph, being judged by the tribunal depicted seated on the floor of the gallery’s interior.

In 2005, the Alhambra Trust acquired the oil painting Arab Figures in an Andalusian Courtyard, by the Belgian painter François Antoine Bossuet (1798–1889) [100] (Figure 17a). He was a professor at the Academies of Fine Arts in Antwerp and Brussels, author of a manual on perspective, and his pictorial work has enjoyed some diffusion in the art market [101]. An original drawing of Granada by him, preserved in a private collection, dated and signed in 1841, appears to have been executed with some precision, considering that other of his paintings of landscapes of Granada, Seville, and Córdoba proved highly idealized [102]. In this case, a certain concordance with reality was maintained, although there are distortions in the perspective of the gallery. The elements represented on the north front of the Courtyard of the Golden Room agree with other views already discussed, but some details, such as the upper-story window, appear to be invented.

Of greater precision and beauty is another undated view by the Danish painter Heinrich Hansen (1821–1890), of which two versions are known with different figures (Figure 17b) [103]. It is consistent with the earlier views of Lewis and Bossuet and offers a clear depiction of the beams of the wooden gallery and of the elements added to the courtyard after 1492, which no longer exist today.

After the disappearance of the gallery, various artists took inspiration from the Courtyard of the Golden Room as the setting for their pictorial works, using photographs taken before 1872. One example is an oil painting by Juan Bautista de Guzmán, Women in the Mexuar Courtyard, dated 1878 and preserved in Granada at the Casa de los Tiros Museum (Figure 18a). As in Fortuny’s oil painting, the wooden gallery was blocked off, most likely due to serious structural problems. Invented vegetation appears in the courtyard, and the scene is centered on three women conversing there.

A German painter, Adolf Seel (1829–1907), who traveled through Spain, Portugal, and North Africa between 1870 and 1871, recreated architectural settings of the Alhambra in his works. In a catalog on Orientalism in Europe [104] (p. 375), one of his oils of the north front of the Courtyard of the Golden Room, dated 1886, is reproduced, in which the wooden gallery still appears (Figure 18b). It includes a striking imaginary pool occupying much of the courtyard, along with an orientalist scene and precise architectural details. In another beautiful earlier watercolor by the same author, dated 1873 and auctioned at Christie’s on 1 December 2004 [105], the large pool also appears, while the wall added by the Catholic Monarchs was omitted, in order to offer an idealized vision of the courtyard in Islamic times.

Other artists also recreated the Courtyard of the Golden Room in the late nineteenth century. For instance, Alexandre Wagner illustrated a beautiful book on Spain in 1881, including a partial view of the north façade with another large imaginary pool [106] (p. 325). In the Cardiff Museum (ref. NMW A 3399) there is an undated oil painting by George Murray (1875–1933) titled A Doorway in the Alhambra, which frames the north façade of the courtyard with a certain abstraction, without the wooden gallery [107] (p. 282).

Also noteworthy are two beautiful oils of this courtyard by the famous painter Joaquín Sorolla, both with carefully captured lighting at different hours of the day. One is entitled Courtyard of the Alhambra (1917), and the other Court of Justice, the Alhambra of Granada. Entrance to the Golden Room of the Royal House of the Alhambra (1909–1917). Both framed the arch and the north wall, the Nasrid portico, the marble pavement, the central fountain, and the steps leading to the interior, but not the upper gallery [108].

3.1.3. Plans and Photographs of the Twentieth Century

In addition to the numerous photographs and postcards that illustrated the Courtyard of the Golden Room in the early twentieth century, of particular interestare the nearly 180 graphic documents preserved in the Alhambra’s Archive of Plans concerning the Mexuar and its surroundings. Among the drawings prepared by Modesto Cendoya, noteworthy are numbers 148 to 157, although his signature only appears on number 155. The ground and upper floor plans of the Mexuar appear in drawings 156 and 157.

Leopoldo Torres Balbás worked on the area around the Mexuar between 1923 and 1930, according to his construction diary. During those years, working drawings were produced and are preserved in the Alhambra’s Archive of Plans, sometimes unsigned, executed by highly skilled draftsmen such as Manuel López Bueno [64] (pp. 217–221). Among the more than thirty projects he prepared for the Alhambra, his project for the repair of the Governors’ Rooms is dated 28 April 1929 [26]. It included plans (Figure 19) and sections (Figure 20a) reproduced using the blueprint technique, with its distinctive deep blue background. In addition, other drawings of his have been preserved, showing formal studies for the roofs (Figure 20b). All were drafted with rigor and sensitivity, paying careful attention to the varying wall thicknesses and irregularities, to enhance understanding of the building and its transformations. Because of their great precision, they remain an essential reference for the drawings currently produced with computer software.

Two photographs taken by Torres Molina during those years are preserved in the Archive of the Alhambra Board of Trustees, showing the west elevation of the Courtyard of the Golden Room. In a photo dated around 1925, you can clearly see the openings in the wall where the beams of the missing gallery used to be and what may have been openings (bricked up), although no data have been found to confirm this (Figure 21a); the other, from around 1930, depicts the new restored wooden eave (Figure 21b).

The works directed by Francisco Prieto Moreno gave rise to other drawings of the Mexuar’s surroundings, which are held in the Alhambra’s Archive of Plans [64] (pp. 222–227). During those years, the installation of the Alhambra Museum was completed in the Governors’ Rooms on the upper floor, as documented in drawing 1112 (1943) and drawing 1139. The basin of the fountain that today occupies the center of the Courtyard of the Golden Room was installed in 1943 and is an exact copy of the fountain in the Lindaraja Courtyard. Of great significance was the demolition of the wall next to the northern portico of the courtyard in 1965, as shown in drawings 2363 to 2371, which explored different design alternatives. Drawing 2301 includes a proposal for a new façade with an eave over the portico that was never built (Figure 22a). This same drawing also contains a west-facing section with the demolished wall and the final roof solution for the Cuarto Dorado, in which the upper floor of the exterior wing toward the Darro was removed (Figure 22b).

Finally, in the twenty-first century, particular mention should be made of the precise photogrammetric surveys by Antonio Almagro Gorbea, available on the website of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid [73]. Two of these, showing the current state of the Façade of the Golden Room and the Façade of the Palace of Comares (Figure 23), are especially useful for verifying the dimensions of their various architectural elements.

After collecting and analyzing historical images of the Courtyard of the Golden Room and its vanished gallery, other references with previously discussed formal parallels were also reviewed (Figure 5, Figure 6 and Figure 7). From all this material, freehand sketches were made of the formal solutions for the different architectural elements, following the consulted images.

First, the projecting beams that were embedded in the wall and supported the gallery were drawn. Their details can be seen in Jean Jules Andrieu’s photograph from around 1867 (Figure 14). They bear a certain resemblance to the already mentioned corbels built around 1500 in the Archbishop’s Palace of Zaragoza (Figure 5b). Antonio Fernández Puertas [7] described them as two timbers, with the lower one being half the length of the upper one. On top of them rested the transverse beams parallel to the wall (Figure 24).

To sketch the timber balustrade and wooden handrail, in addition to Andrieu’s photograph (c. 1867) (Figure 14), Laurent’s photograph (Figure 15), and Harriet Ford’s meticulous drawing (Figure 10b) were used. In the latter, it can be observed that the vertical posts had a square section in their lower part and an octagonal section above the handrail, up to just before their junction with the bearing block, where they returned to a square section. Furthermore, it can be seen that they alternated between octagonal and hexadecagonal sections. To sketch the brackets above the vertical posts, the available photographs were also used. On these brackets rested the main beam, which received the load from the inclined joists supporting the roof (Figure 25 and Figure 26).

3.2. Scaled Graphic Reconstruction

To undertake the scaled drawing of the different construction elements of the missing gallery, an ascending order was followed: cantilever beams, timber floor structure, timber balustrade, upright posts and bearing blocks, main beam (stringers), and roof.

Beforehand, CAD software (AutoCAD version 2025) was used to draw the current ground plans and elevations of the courtyard. For this, the plans preserved in the Alhambra Archive proved fundamental, especially the ground plans and section of the Project for the Repair of the Governors’ Rooms by Torres Balbás in 1929 (Figure 19 and Figure 20). The ground plans and sections of the Courtyard of the Golden Room, drawn to a 1:50 scale around 1965 (Figure 22), were also used. The metric reliability of these drawings was verified through Antonio Almagro Gorbea’s photogrammetric surveys (Figure 23), with direct on-site measurements, and with a point cloud obtained by means of 3D laser scanning by the authors.

The total length of the gallery, determined by the distance between the current north and south façades of the courtyard, which are parallel to each other, was 11.20 m, not including the wall built by the Catholic Monarchs and demolished in 1965, which appears precisely drawn in Torres Balbás’s plans. The details in Torres Molina’s photograph from around 1925 (Figure 21a) were crucial to initiating the graphic reconstruction of the gallery. In it, the openings in the wall for the projecting beams can be clearly seen, one of them blocked. They were composed of two pieces, whose ends were carved for ornamental purposes. This photograph confirms that there were five main beams, not four as Fernández Puertas mistakenly indicated [7] (p. 13). This number matches the five upright posts shown in various images.

The distances between the different cantilever beams were estimated through a simple geometric operation performed on Torres Molina’s photograph (Figure 27) [90]: the vanishing lines of the façade plane were drawn, and this vanishing plane was transformed into a frontal plane. The true dimensions were obtained by tracing the diagonals and axes of the beams. It was estimated that the lower timber forming the beam had a section of 29 × 19 cm, and the upper timber 31 × 22 cm. Furthermore, it was established that the six spans of the gallery were not identical; the two spans adjacent to the Façade of Comares were somewhat smaller. The span near the north façade would have originally had a size similar to the adjoining spans, but it was reduced by the demolished wall that stood until 1965, which appears to have been built when the gallery already existed.

To deduce other dimensional relationships between elements of the gallery and the north front of the courtyard, the photograph marketed by G. W. Wilson & Co. around 1870–1871 (Figure 16) and the plan by Torres Balbás with the wall demolished (Figure 20a) were used. By drawing auxiliary lines from the arch’s keystone, the balcony, and the wooden railing, further dimensions of the gallery were established (Figure 28). It was estimated that the width of the gallery was 1.90 m, from the outer limit of the handrail to its supporting wall, and its height was 6.40 m, from the courtyard floor to the gallery’s paving.

Also used in this study was J. Laurent’s photograph entitled Entrance Gate to the Courtyard of the Mosque (Figure 29a), in which the north façade appears more frontally than in Torres Molina’s photograph. In both, the recesses in the north wall for embedding the gallery’s floor beams—resting on the cantilever beams—can be seen. The beams at the ends, next to the wall and the outer edge, were larger, while seven intermediate beams of smaller size, all parallel to the west wall, filled the span. Their dimensions were estimated by considering their equidistance in relation to their section and the total width of the gallery.

Above them lay a wooden board, forming the base for a layer of mortar and a ceramic pavement with a slight slope to drain rainwater into the courtyard. This solution was common in similar sixteenth-century balconies in Seville, such as one described in 1542 [Seville Cathedral Archive, Chapter Collection, section II, book 9163, sheet 226v] [50] (p. 130). In Harriet Ford’s drawing (Figure 11b), it appears that a plank floor was placed over this ceramic pavement. At the outer edge facing the courtyard, there was a ceramic drip course, finished with a wooden molding.

In another photograph by J. Laurent (Figure 29b), the junction of the gallery with the Façade of Comares can be observed. This photograph confirms the position of different wooden elements in relation to the stucco decoration still preserved today, whose exact dimensions were verified with Antonio Almagro’s photogrammetry (Figure 24b).

To draw the section of the support beams for the timber balustrade, Andrieu’s photograph (Figure 14) was used. The height and shape of these timber balustrades and upright posts are evident in Harriet Ford’s drawing (Figure 11b). Considering the width of the handrail, the square section of these posts in their lower part was estimated to be 12 cm per side, the same as the octagonal section in their upper part. The dimensions of the brackets and upper beams of the gallery were also deduced from Ford’s drawing, the mentioned photographs, and previously estimated measurements.

The upper eaves of the gallery were located roughly halfway up the muqarnas frieze of the Façade of Comares. In Torres Molina’s photograph from around 1925, small recesses can be seen in the wall, where the gallery’s sloping roof beams were embedded, forming the base for a wooden board under the roof tiles. The roof slope was thus defined by the eaves of the gallery and these wall recesses.

In Harriet Ford’s drawing, a slight reduction in the slope of the beams under the large eaves of the Façade of Comares can be noticed. For drawing it to scale, plan no. 3986 from the Alhambra Archive was consulted, which details the façade section, along with photographs showing the recesses into which the sloping beams were set beneath the eaves.

After counting the number of roof beams in the photographs, and considering their size and spacing, their dimensions were established using López de Arenas’s 1633 carpentry treatise [59], which recommends a 2:3 proportion. It was estimated that the main beams measured 18 × 12 cm, while the sloping beams were 12 × 8 cm.

From all this evidence, the elevations, sections (Figure 30), ground plans, and details (Figure 31) of the gallery were reconstructed and overlaid on the current state plans, and we also considered the position of the wall demolished in 1965, which was represented in a different color.

3.3. Three-Dimensional Digital Representation

From the elevation, section, and ground plans of the vanished wooden gallery built by the Catholic Monarchs, a three-dimensional model was created and inserted into the present courtyard, also taking into account the wall demolished in 1965.

As complementary documentation, new photographs were first taken with a Canon EOS R6 Mark II camera (Melville, NY, USA) [109], which is particularly effective for capturing details in low-light environments thanks to its mirrorless system offering an exceptional ISO range of 100–102,400.

To accurately draw the current state of the courtyard, especially its north and south façades, and to compare the dimensions of their architectural details with the historical plans consulted and the CAD drawings, a point cloud was generated using the Polycam application (has no version number) [110] on an iPhone 13 . The photographic mode of Polycam is based on images taken from several angles. The resulting data-rich images were automatically processed by Polycam, resulting in a detailed 3D reconstruction. This point cloud was used to compare with other measurement data.

Based on a careful review of all available graphic material, a digital model was built using Trimble, Inc. 3D modeling (Sunnyvale, CA, USA) software SketchUp (version 2025) [111]. It was used due to its ease of use and surface-oriented modeling. A robust object-based model was not needed for the visualization efforts since modeling the courtyard floor, wall, or roof assemblies was not required. The surface nature of the visualizations dictated a simple surface model. The gallery was built as a collection of assembled items, but the assembly was fairly simple, also convenient for a modeler like SketchUp. The model included three main components: the courtyard as it exists today; the wall built by the Catholic Monarchs and demolished in 1965; and the missing wooden gallery. The model was designed to allow these elements to be viewed or hidden, offering different visualization options.

First, digital images of the gallery as an isolated element were generated in SketchUp (Figure 32a), in order to show its main architectural features, and a small model was produced through digital fabrication (Figure 32b), using a Creality Ender-3 S1 Pro 3D printer with conventional polylactic acid (PLA). Subsequently, additional digital images were generated in SketchUp showing the gallery within the courtyard, both before the demolition of the wall (Figure 33a) and after (Figure 33b).

Finally, available information on color and textures was incorporated into the Epic Games, Inc. version 2025 (Cary, NC, USA) real-time render engine, Twinmotion. The surfaces were meticulously mapped with a combination of high-resolution photography taken at the monument site by the authors, as well as customized materials and textures carefully selected from publicly accessible online sources. Great care was taken to curate realistic representations, including the nuances of material, texture, light, and reflectivity. A re-creation of the tactile and sensory experience of the space as it exists today drove decision-making for the material expression of the model. To provide a general understanding of the space of the Courtyard of the Golden Room, one visualization was chosen with a skyward perspective, allowing for the simultaneous view of the current state of its four façades (Figure 34a) and another similar one including the wooden gallery (Figure 34b). To offer a broader view more comparable to the perception of the courtyard today, a lateral perspective was selected that shows three of the façades (Figure 35a), with the missing gallery added in the same view (Figure 35b). The views demonstrate different experiential nuances of the courtyard through a compare-and-contrast method of visualization.

4. Conclusions

The fragile Nasrid architecture of the Alhambra has survived remarkably over the centuries, either restored or transformed. After the conquest of Granada by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492, major works were undertaken that are still little known. Archival documentation analyzed by various authors provides general data on payments made, but little detail on their scope.

In the area of the Mexuar, which in Nasrid times functioned as a public or administrative palace, the private chambers of Queen Isabella the Catholic were installed, in the so-called Golden Room, next to the Façade of Comares, a new chapel, and other upper-floor rooms. It is known that King Ferdinand summoned craftsmen of various origins for these works. However, no documentation has been found concerning the missing wooden gallery built in the Courtyard of the Golden Room, the focus of this study, nor concerning its disappearance during the conservation directed by Rafael Contreras, except for the decision of its demolition in 1872.

To advance understanding and attempt its graphic reconstruction, a novel methodology was developed that, for the first time, brings together and analyzes its principal historical images (plans, views, and photographs), providing a comprehensive view of available information.

The so-called large plan, drawn around 1532, was the earliest known plan of the Nasrid palaces. It represented the upper-floor gallery of the Courtyard of the Golden Room, next to the newly built north wall and a staircase. These were the chambers of Empress Isabella, wife of Charles V. The plan commissioned by the Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid in the second half of the eighteenth century shows a similar layout of the courtyard, although it did not represent the gallery on the upper floor, where the rooms of the Governors of the Alhambra were then located.

The young painter John Frederick Lewis produced the first views of the courtyard in the nineteenth century, illustrating with precision its state of abandonment and its architectural details, consistent with earlier plans and later drawings. Of special documentary interest is one of his drawings taken from inside the gallery, which was carefully completed by Harriet Ford. Architects Jones and Goury drew a reconstruction proposal of the Façade of Comares. A precise view published by Asselineau in 1853 shows the gallery and courtyard in a state of decay; another reconstruction proposal of the façade was published in the series Monumentos Arquitectónicos de España.

Photographs taken after the advent of this technique in the mid-nineteenth century are of great documentary value. A little-known stereoscopic view commercialized by Andrieu around 1867 shows the details of the gallery shortly before its demolition; likewise, a photograph by J. Laurent of the Façade of Comares. In addition, notable nineteenth-century painters, such as Mariano Fortuny and others, recreated the courtyard and its gallery as a picturesque setting, often including imaginative details.

The plans preserved in the Alhambra Archive, produced in connection with works in the Mexuar during the twentieth century, are also of considerable accuracy. Leopoldo Torres Balbás carried out major interventions on the upper floor and roofs of the Governors’ Rooms. Later, Francisco Prieto Moreno completed the installation of a new museum on the upper floor and demolished the north wall of the Courtyard of the Golden Room in 1965. The recent photogrammetric surveys by Antonio Almagro, available on the website of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, document with precision the current state of the two main façades of this courtyard.

After analyzing these historical images, which are an indispensable source for understanding this heritage site and its transformations, other examples of preserved galleries in Spain with certain formal parallels were reviewed, and carpentry treatises were consulted. Based on this, various freehand sketches were drawn to understand its constructive elements. Subsequently, scaled drawings of the courtyard were begun using CAD software, based on the historical plans and on-site measurements. Photographs of the junctions between the gallery and the walls, and of the beam recesses visible after its demolition, enabled deduction of the principal dimensions.

A point cloud of the courtyard was obtained using the Polycam application and an iPhone 13, to corroborate the metric precision of the represented courtyard and to gather data on colors and textures. In addition, a three-dimensional digital model was produced, allowing the fabrication of a small-scale model incorporating all the structural elements. Finally, digital views of the courtyard were developed, showing its current state, the wall demolished in 1965, and the missing wooden gallery.

Finally, it should be noted that historical images and accurate graphic documentation are essential for understanding architectural heritage and for its conservation over time. In cases of destroyed heritage, the intangible values of architecture will remain if such documentation allows for rigorous digital or even real reconstruction. The graphic analysis of historical images linked to the production of new digital images is an interesting topic for future research, in order to learn about and preserve the Alhambra and other architectural heritage sites. In this way, a deeper understanding is achieved of a singular work of the Catholic Monarchs that occupied the Golden Room Courtyard for several centuries, contributing a new perspective on the transformations of an architectural complex included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.