Adolphe Braun (1812 - 1877) COURT OF THE LIONS, Alhambra, Spain, c.1880, mammoth plate, carbon print, image size approx, 800 mm x 650 mm. Number in pencil on the verso of the print, In fine condition, with good contrast and tonality throughout, framed and glazed Court of the Lions (Patio de los Leones; وهبعابسلا ),the main courtyard of the Nasrid dynasty Palace of the Lions in the heart of the Alhambra, the Moorish citadel formed by a complex of palaces, gardens and forts in Granada, Spain. It was commissioned by the Nasrid sultan Muhammed V. of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus. Its construction started in the second period of his reign, between 1362 and 1391 AD. The photographer Adolphe Braun (1812-1877) was trained as a fabric designer and began his photography career in 1853. His photographs of flowers, for a catalog titled Fleurs photographiés, were to be transferred onto printing blocks for wallpaper and fabric designs. It was an extremely successful project for Braun; one album of photographs was presented to Empress Eugénie of France, and it earned him a medal at the 1855 Paris Exposition Universelle. By the early 1860s, Braun‘s focus had shifted to the making of topographical views of scenes throughout Europe and, beginning in 1866, to the reproductions of works of art. Braun's photography studio became one of the world‘s largest publishers of such images. In 1869 Braun‘s was one of only two photographic firms invited to photograph the opening of the Suez Canal in Egypt