Summary Execution under the Moorish Kings of Granada (Execution without Hearing or Judgment under the Moorish Kings of Granada)

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.