Summary Execution under the Moorish Kings of Granada (Execution without Hearing or Judgment under the Moorish Kings of Granada)
| Support Type: | Canvas |
| Paint Type: | Oil Paint |
| Current Location: | Musée d\'Orsay |
| Location History: | From 1870 to 1872, in the collection of the Regnault heirs 1872, acquired from the artist\'s heirs by the National Museums for the Musée du Luxembourg From 1872 to 1879, Musée du Luxembourg, Paris 1879, assigned to the Musée du Louvre, Paris 1978, transferred to the Musée d\'Orsay, Paris |
This painting was supposedly made during a summer stay in Tangiers, Morocco. The painting is one of devastating beauty, depicting the Alhambra Palace, intricately made with years of hard work. However, what is now known is anything but delightful. Here stands one of the last supposed Moorish Kings, and his dissatisfaction with the severed victim. For some reason that is not verifiably known, the King was displeased, and in this displeasure, he severed the head of the depicted victim. There was no hearing, no justice, or even a chance to prove innocence. Just brutal execution because one person who was in power believed that the victim was wrong. This was not the revered, just kings once depicted in history, but rather a tyrannical ruler whose actions were driven by preset mindsets and harsh judgment without anyone else’s consultation. The beauty of the palace dulls as the red flows on the white marble floors, and the king, unimpressed, watches the head lull down and roll on the steps. While the colours used in the painting of architecture and clothing are beautiful and joyous, the action or the event is strikingly contrasting. Critics called this work soulless, saying there is no deep meaning or human interest, only a ghastly scene. Yet it serves as a magnificent masterpiece for exploration of light, shade, colour and contrast.
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