Islamic Art. The religion called Islam (meaning submission to Gods will) originated in Arabia in the early seventh century. Under the leadership of its.

Islamic Art

The religion called Islam (meaning “submission to God’s will”) originated in Arabia in the early

seventh century. Under the leadership of its founder, the Prophet Muhammad (c. 570-632),

Islam spread rapidly. Today, Islam is the worlds fastest growing religion.

Conservative Muslims discouraged the representation of figures, particularly in religious contexts. Artists developed a rich vocabulary of complex geometric design and the scrolling vines known outside the Islamic world as arabesques.

For some people, nonrepresentational designs help

free the mind from the contemplation of material form.

Reverence for the Koran as the word of God extends to the act of writing, and calligraphy is one of the glories of Islamic art.

Kufic, the earliest formal script, was angular…the red marks are pronunciation guides. This page is on parchment, a prepared animal skin. Paper, invented by the Chinese, did not replace parchment until after the year 1000 CE.

Inspired by Roman and Byzantine building projects, the Muslims became enthusiastic builders of mosques, shrines and palaces. The Dome of the Rock was begun in 692 CE. It is on a high place in Jerusalem where Muslims believe that Muhammad assended to the presence of God

It is also associated with the creation of Adam. It is the place where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac, and was the site of the Temple of Solomon. So, it is an important religious site for Christians, Jews, and Muslims.

The centrally planned shrine is based on Byzantine and local Christian architecture.

The Dome of the Rock is a special shrine. Mosques, in contrast, provide a place for regular public worship.

Mosques may have several different plans, but they are usually entered through a courtyard, and they must have a large covered space to accommodate the community at Friday prayers.

Oriented toward Mecca (qibla), Mosques have a qibla wall that holds a mihrab or niche, a sacred place to pray.

One or more huge towers (minarets from which the faithful are called to prayer) came to symbolize Islam’s presence in a city.

In 750 CE, two Islamic dynasties fought. One of the survivors came across north Africa and settled in Cordoba Spain where he built a Great Mosque and made Cordoba one of Europe's centers of scholars, scientists, poets and musicians.

One of the innovative construction techniques used in the Great Mosque at Cordoba was the use of brick with stone. The stone gives the building strength and the brick gives it flexibility.

Later Islamic Art

Tile work, a highlight of Islamic art, can be seen in this 14th century mihrab, originally from Persia (Iran), is fashioned

of hand cut tiles. The dense decoration patterns include

geometric and organic shapes that contrast with the

inscriptions of old and new style calligraphy.

The Mughal Empire

Islam first touched India in the eighth

century. By the eleventh century, Turks ruled

parts of India, and left their mark, but the

Mughal empire made a lasting impression on

Indian art.

The Mughals originally came from Central

Asia. No one had more impact on the arts than

the emperor Akbar.

Akbar loved the arts, especially painting. In the workshop of painters that he established, they developed a naturalistic style.

One of the masterpieces to come from this workshop was a a manuscript named Hamza-nama…it told of the adventures of an uncle of the Prophet Muhammad.

Painted on cotton cloth, the volume gathered 1,400 illustrations into 12 volumes, and took 15 years to complete.

Using the elements of the 300 year old tradition of Islamic art that they had inherited, Mughal architects built the most famous

landmark of India, the Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal was built as a tomb for a wife of Akbar’s son…she died in childbirth having her 14th child.

In 1453, the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople (renamed it Istanbul) and ended the Byzantine empire.

With Hagia Sophia as its

inspiration, the Mosque of Selim was designed and

built in Edirne, Turkey.

The height of the Ottoman empire came during the

reign of Suleiman, who

began a building campaign not seen since the

Romans.

Calligraphy was used to develop imperial ciphers – tughras – into a specialized art form.

The Ottoman empire lasted until World War I, and in 1918 the modern country of Turkey was born. It was then that the Arabic script of the Ottomans was replaced with the Latin alphabet.