ARCHITECTURE Iram of the Tall Columns
Architecture straight out of the Arabian Nights
Starts 5 July | £349 | Online
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Iram and the Tall Columns is one of my favourite stories from the 1001 Nights. An Arabian lost city that is even mentioned in the Qu'ran, the city of Iram of the tribe of 'Ad. My Memory Palace that is part of my own PhD 1001 Nights research is also based on this very tale.
From the Malcolm C Lyons Arabian Nights translation: "Three hundred years were spent on the work and, when it was finished, the builders came to the king and told him that it was done. He then ordered them to build a strong fortress towering high over the city, around which there were to be a thousand palaces, each supported on a thousand pillars, every one the residence of a vizier. The builders left at once and spent twenty years on the work, after which they returned to Shaddad and told him that they had done what he wanted. He then ordered his thousand viziers, his principal officers and the soldiers on whom he relied, together with others, to be ready to travel in order to move to Iram, City of the Columns…"
For our own version of the 'Atlantis of the Sands' we'll paint our own mythical city of columns touching the clouds, perhaps in semi ruins with waterfalls and bridges, or in its glorious heyday with bejewelled and colourful pillars and fountains...
In this Architecture series we'll cover Persian and Mughal architecture, both interior and exterior. Paint ice-cream pastel coloured domed fantasy buildings and spires and cities in the distance. Paint domestic and intimate scenes up close. We'll cover the whole of the built environment as seen in miniature paintings.
Please note that these, like the rest of the Masterclass series covering Faces, Animals and Plants, are one-off classes and will not be repeated.
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Upcoming sessions
Dates: 5 July 2023 to 27 July 2023
Total of 4 sessions on Wednesdays 10pm to midnight BST
Wednesday, 5 July
Wednesday, 12 July
Wednesday, 19 July
Wednesday, 26 July