Islamic Art

Islamic ArtIslamic Art

IslamIslam

• Means “submission”; it comes from the word for peace (the peace Muslims receive in submitting to God).

• Muhammad, the prophet.

• 622 ad, the Hejira

Qur’anQur’an

• The Qur’an, the essential basis of Islamic belief. It means “recitation.”

• Not a narrative account of the Prophet’s life.

• It is God’s own words as they were spoken by the angel Gabriel

• Arabic: the common language in all Islamic lands

• Art of calligraphy

• Also the hadith, accounts of the Prophet’s deeds and sayings, as recorded by his followers.

The Five Pillars of IslamThe Five Pillars of Islam

• Profession of faith, the shahada

• Daily prayers, the salah

• Alms for the poor collected in the form of a religious tax, the zakat

• Fast during the month of Ramadan

• Pilgrimage to Mecca, the hajj

IslamIslam

IslamIslam

The Mosque of CórdobaThe Mosque of Córdoba

The Mosque of CórdobaThe Mosque of Córdoba

The construction started in the 786 on the ruins of the The construction started in the 786 on the ruins of the visigoth basilica of visigoth basilica of San Vicente MartyrMartyr. .

The mosque was expanded The mosque was expanded four times in different agesfour times in different ages

• Abd-al-Rahman I 786 (Abd-al-Rahman I 786 (pinkpink))• Abd-al-Rahman II (Abd-al-Rahman II (greengreen))• Abd-al-Rahman III built the Abd-al-Rahman III built the

minaret (number 2).minaret (number 2).• Al-Haken II (Al-Haken II (blueblue))• Al-Mansur in 988 (Al-Mansur in 988 (brownbrown). ).

• It has 23,400 square metersIt has 23,400 square meters

Parts of the MosqueParts of the Mosque

1. The Orange Trees Courtyard was originally used for ritual washings. It is now surrounded by a gallery from the 16th century.

2. The minaret (now covered by the christian tower) was used for calling the prayers.

3. The oratory or prayer room with 1300 columns and 365 bicolour arches.or prayer room with 1300 columns and 365 bicolour arches.

Courtyard

Cathedral

Tower

Oratory

Butresses on the outside

The MinaretThe Minaret

The remains of the old square-shaped minaret, made by The remains of the old square-shaped minaret, made by Abderramán IIIAbderramán III,, are now inside the christian belfryare now inside the christian belfry of the of the cathedral. cathedral.

One of the most important parts of the Mosque is The Orange Tree Courtyard,

It was used as a place for

public activities.

The Orange Tree Courtyard

The Oratory

The oratory is made up of 19 naves with 856 columns

The Oratory

The QiblahThe Qiblah

The The QiblahQiblah is the wall where the is the wall where the imamimam and the and the worshippers must be orientated to when they pray.worshippers must be orientated to when they pray.

The MihrabThe Mihrab

The The MihrabMihrab is a small room is a small room in the in the QiblahQiblah where the where the Qur’an is kept. is kept.

Maqsurah

An enclosure, or wooden screen near the Mihrab or the center of the qibla wall, where the Caliph or the Imam made their prayers

Scalloped Arch

The roof

The roof

Mosaics

The Cathedral

After the conquest of Cordoba

by the christians, they used the mosque to celebrate their cult, but in the 16th century the christians built a cathedral in the middle of the old mosque.

THE ALHAMBRA

More than a Palace

• Built in one of Granada’s hills

• Means “the red one”

• It was more than a palace: a fortress complex, an administration center for the Muslim rulers of Granada.

The floor plan

•  Alhambra did not have a master plan so its overall layout is not organized.

• Many construction phases: from the 9th-century citadel, through the 14th-century Muslim palaces, to the 16th-century palace of Charles V

The floor plan

• The exterior is not important.

• Walls are “naked” on the outside. Just some small windows and "ajimeces“, wooden lattice to see and not to be seen.

Architecture

The palace is built around several rectangular patios

Nature is part of the architecture.

Water has a triple purpose:

• Usefullness• Religious• Esthetic (not only visual)

Architecture: importance of the military purpose

Materials

• In practical areas such as military parts or bathrooms:

• Ashlar, big bricks on pilars, arches and vaults and mortar-concrete

Interiors are decorated with:

•Marble (floors)

•Tiles (plinth, base)

•Plaster (walls & ceilings)

•Wood (ceilings)

• La columna nazarí arranca de un plinto cuadrado de escasa altura, sobre el que generalmente va una basa. El fuste es cilíndrico y muy esbelto y va adornado con varios anillos en la parte superior. El capitel presenta dos variantes:

• con dos partes diferenciadas: la inferior cilíndrica y decorada con hojas lisas y la superior, un paralelepípedo de base cuadrada, decorado con hojas en relieve. Sobre el capitel un ábaco.

• capitel de mocárabes

La decoración en yeso puede ser tallada in situ (cuando aún estaba fresco), o mediante el procedimiento del vaciado con empleo de moldes.Esta decoración se hace cada vez más menuda, compacta y densa, cubriendo totalmente la superficie a decorar con motivos florales (el ataurique), epigráficos y geométricos, en especial la sebqa.

• Respecto de las inscripciones epigráficas juegan el papel que la iconografía, a través de las imágenes figuradas, desempeña en otras tradiciones arquitectónicas. Además de su función ornamental y decorativa, manifiestan propósitos constructivos y nos informan sobre el significado de la arquitectura. Hay tres clases de inscripciones en los edificios granadinos:

• de carácter informativo (fecha, sultán que ordena la construcción,...)

• fórmulas coránicas• textos (crónicas o poemas) elegidos para enfatizar el

significado y función arquitectónicas.

Alcazaba

1. Los Adarves

2. La Torre de la Pólvora

3. La Torre de la Vela

4. La Torre del Adarguero

5. La Torre Quebrada

6. La Torre del Homenaje

7. La Puerta de las Armas

8. Acceso a la Medina

9. Caballerizas

10. El Tambor de Artillería

Alcazaba. (Plaza de Armas)

El Generalife

1 y 2.- Patios

3.- Patio de la Acequia

4.- Mirador

5.- Sala Regia

6.- Torre de Ismail

7.- Patio de la Sultana

9.- Escalera del Agua

10.- Mirador

Water and vegetation

El Generalife. Patio de los cipreses

Palacio de Comares.

1.- Oratorio

2.- Mexuar

3.- Patio del Cuarto Dorado

4.- Cuarto Dorado

5.- Patio de los Arrayanes

6.- Sala de la Barca

7.- Sala de los Embajadores (Torre de Comares)

8.- Baños

9.- Sala de las Camas

10.- Tepidarium

11.- Caldarium

Palacio de Comares. Patio de Arrayanes y Torre de Comares

Palacio de Comares. Patio del Cuarto Dorado

Palacio de Leones.

1.- Patio de los Leones

2.- Sala de los Mocárabes

3.- Sala de Abencerrajes

4.- Sala de los Reyes

5.- Sala de las Dos Hermanas

6.- Mirador de Daxara

Patio de los Leones

Patio de los Leones. Arcos pantalla

Patio de los Leones

Sala de los Abencerrajes

Sala de los Abencerrajes (det.)

Hall of the Two Sisters

• The carved stucco of the ceiling in the Hall of the Two Sisters is unparalleled in beauty and geometrical complexity.