Lecture 1 islamic art

ًINTRODUCTION
ًMuslim artist adapted their creativity to evoke their inner
beliefs in a series of abstract forms, producing some amazing
works of art.
ًRejecting the depiction of living forms, this artists
progressively established a new style substantially deviating
from the roman and Byzantine art of their time.
ًIn the mind of the Muslim art, art work is very much connected
to ways of transmitting the message of Islam rather than the
material form used in other cultures.

ًsource of Muslim art
ًMuslim art was a result of the accumulated knowledge of local
environments and societies, incorporating Arabic, Persian,
Mesopotamian and African traditions and Byzantine inspiration.
ًIslam built on this knowledge and developed its own unique
style, inspired by three main element
ًAl Qur’an
ًThe independence of some verses and
interrelation of others form extraordinatory
meanings as each verse takes the reader into a
unique divine experience feeling its joy and
happiness, terror and fearfulness, and so on

ًThe Muslim artist works was guided by this criterion
and was always connected to the remembrance of god
whether it was ceramics, textile etc
The way this remembrance was expresses in many
material such iron and their artistic style took many
forms such arabesque design, geometrical pattern
and calligraphy.
ًDecisive factor dictating the nature of Muslim art is
the religious rule that discourages the depiction of
human or animal form

The nature and form of Muslim Art
Can be divide into three types
Vegetal and floral art
Their representation was abstract rather than realistic as in Western
art.
The use of vegetal forms in Muslim art is also conditioned to
some extent with the Islamic prohibition of imitation of living
creatures.
However, this interdiction naturally decreases with
the descent from human to animal to vegetal form
Examples: Dome of The Rock and Umayyad mosque of
Damascus which found the earliest examples of Muslim vegetal
art

Figure 1- Detail of floral
decoration in the Dome of
the Rock

Figure 2 – Illustration of a
tree in a landscape
decoration in the Umayyad
Mosque in Damascus

Geometrical Art
The cultures of the Middle East that embraced Islam have
always shown a passion for geometrical design. More than five
thousand years ago, at Warka in Mesopotamia - the land
between the Tigris and Euphrates – complex geometrical
mosaics, based upon equilateral triangles, were part of the
architectural vocabulary.
defined as
“ ornamental work used for flat surfaces consisting of interlacing
geometrical pattern of polygon, circle and interlocked lines and
curves (Chambers Science and technology Dictionary.

2. The evolution of geometrical art was sophistication and
popularity of science of geometry in the Muslim world.
Its also show that early Muslim craftsmen developed theoretical
rules for the use of aesthetic geometry, denying the claims of
some Orientals that Muslim geometrical art was develop by
accident.
This Muslim geometrical art is very much connected to the
famous concept of the Islamic Arabesque Art.
The Muslim used and develop geometrical art for
two reason:
1. It provided an alternative to prohibited depiction of live
creatures. Abstract geometrical forms were particularly favored
in mosques because they encourage spiritual contemplation, in
contrast to portrayals of living creatures, which divert attention to
the desires of creatures rather than the will god.

Calligraphy
The third decorative form of art developed by Muslim was
calligraphy. It consist of use of artistic lettering, sometimes
combined with geometrical and natural forms.
(The art of fine handwriting).
Arabic calligraphy is an aspect of Islamic art that has co-evolved
alongside the religion of Islam and the Arabic language.
Arabic calligraphy is associated with geometric Islamic art (the
Arabesque) on the walls and ceilings of mosques as well as on the
page. Contemporary artists in the Arab and Islamic world draw on
the heritage of calligraphy either to use calligraphic inscriptions in
their work or to use calligraphic abstractions.

The aim of Muslim calligraphy was not merely to provide
decoration but also worship and remember Allah
The qur’anic verses mostly used which are said in the act of
worship or contain supplications, or describe some of the
characters of Allah or his prophet Muhammad SAW.
Calligraphy is also used on dedication stones to record the
foundation of some key Muslim buildings.

The mystic power attributed to some words, names and
sentence as protections against evil also contributed to
development of calligraphy and its popularization
Arabic was mostly written in two scripts.
1. Kufic script
Whose name is derived from the city of Kufa, where was
invented by scribes engage in transcription of the Qur’an set
up a famous school of writing. The letter of this scrip have a
rectangular form, which made them well suited with
architectural use

Figure 5 – Kufic calligraphy combine with floral and geometrical
decoration with intersecting horseshoe arch. Plate on Cordoba
Mosque facade

2.Naskhi
This style of Arabic is older than Kufic yet it resembles the
characters used by modern Arabic writing and painting. It is
characterized by round and cursive shape of its letters.
The Naskhi calligraphy became more popular than kufic and was
substantially developed by Ottomans

Figure 7– Tile in Alhambra
Palace geometrical
decorations and Naskhi
Calligraphy, Granada,
Spain

Arabesque Art
The coming together of these three forms creates the
Arabesque, and this is a reflection of unity arising from
diversity (a basic tenet of Islam).
Intricate overall pattern of geometric forms or stylized plants
used in Muslim countries.
-A species of ornament of infinite variety used for enriching flat
surfaces or moldings, either painted, inlaid, or carved in low
relief.
The Arabesque, an aspect of Islamic art usually found decorating the
walls of mosques, is an elaborate application of repeating geometric
forms that often echo the forms of plants and animals. The choice of
which geometric forms are to be used and how they are to be formatted
is based upon the Islamic view of the world.
These forms, taken together, constitute an infinite pattern that extends
beyond the visible material world.
they in fact symbolize the infinite, and therefore uncentralized, nature of
the creation of the one God (Allah).

Arabesque can also be floral, using a stalk, leaf or flower (tawriq)
as its artistic medium or a combination of floral and geometric
patterns.
The expression embodied in its interlacing pattern, cohesive
movement, gravity, mass and volume signifies infinity and produces
a contemplative feeling in the spectator leading him slowly into the
depth of the Divine presence (Al Alfi, 1969)
The Arabesque pattern is composed of many units and interlaced
together, flowing from the other in all direction.
Each unit, although it is independent and complete and can
stand alone, forms part of the whole design ; a note in the
general rhythm of pattern. (faruqi, 1973)
The most common use of Arabesque is decorative consisting
mainly of a two dimensional pattern covering surfaces such as
ceilings, walls, carpets, furniture and textiles.

Figure 3 – Floral Arabesque covering the
interior of the Dome of Masjid I-Shah Mosque,
Isfahan

Muslim contribute to European Art.
1. Direct imitation through the reproduction of same theme
in the same type of medium
Examples
A Muslim ceramic have been reproduced in a European
ceramic like Kufic inscription in the Ibn Tulun Mosque (Cairo)
were reproduced in Gothic art first in France then the rest of
Europe.

2. Through the transposition of source of media.
A Muslim theme in a particular medium was reproduced in a
European work of art in a different type of medium.
Figure 8- Decorative arch in
11th century AlJafteria
Palace showing artistic
elements which later
inspired the Rococo style of
European art

3. The motif was not copied or reproduce but gradually
inspired the development of particular style of fashion of
art.
Muslim art and arabesque particular was the inspiration for
both the European Rococo and Baroque styles which popular
in Europe between the 19th and 18th centuries.
According some sources the word “baroque” is ultimately
derived from the Arabic word of burga, meaning “uneven
surface”, which was source of the word Barrocco in
Portuguese which meant “ irregularly shaped pearl”

Figure 9 – Decorative arcade in Aljaferia showing elements that later
inspired the baroque style

Figure 10 – Northern
entrance of Ulu Cami
Hospital (13th century)
showing a close up view
of “Baroque” features

Lecture 1 islamic art

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Lecture 1 islamic art