La Mezquita of Cordova, at the end of the old Roman road.  53 by 36 inches, oil on canvas on ACP.  Completed 2020.  Substantially revised 2026.

Legend has it that when the Moors invaded the Iberian peninsula in the 700s they found a Roman bridge which had collapsed.  The residents of Cordova needed the bridge but could not figure out how to repair it.  They offered the Moors their allegiance if only they would fix the bridge.  Over the next 200 years the Moors not only fixed the bridge, they constructed a grand mosque, largely built with columns and blocks salvaged from abundant abandoned Roman temples scattered around the area.  In the 1400s the grand mosque was captured and presented as a gift to the Roman Catholic church, which owns it to this day.

The history of La Mezquita has fascinated me for years, and I have devoted several paintings to it.  It is the history of Western religion.  We have much to learn from the grand mosque at the end of the old Roman road.