islamic art online
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Islamic Art
Historical Background:
The Prophet Mohammed was born in Arabia in 570 CE, at the height of the Byzantine Empire. A trader, married to a wealthy widow, he experiences a spiritual awakening in his early middle age, receiving the word of God (Quran) from the angel Gabriel. He begins preaching in Mecca, criticizing the wealthiest residents who benefit most from the pilgrimages made by pagan Arabs to visit the idols housed in the Kaaba, built by Abraham. He’s forced to flee from Mecca (flight known as the Hegira) and goes to Medina, where his preaching gathers followers. Becoming both a spiritual and temporal military leader, he gathers his forces and returns to conquer Mecca in the first Holy War, in the name of Allah. He preaches submission to God, equality of all before God, strict monotheism, obedience to God's requirements: prayers facing Mecca 5x/day, fasting during Ramadan, giving alms to the poor, pilgrimage to Mecca (if possible) once during lifetime, following dietary restrictions. Islam becomes the fastest-growing religion in world history.
5 Pillars of Islam
• Declaration of Faith• Prayer (salat)• Zacat or Tithe• The Fast of Ramadan (9th month of the
Islamic calendar)• Pilgrimage
Dedication of Faith
• There is no god but God (Allah) and Muhammed is his Prophet
• To become a Muslim one need only make this simple declaration of faith
• Islam has absolute Monotheism• Mohammed transmits the direct word of God• Unlike Christ, Muhammed, while the perfect man
is not divine – the preeminent role model
Prayer (Salat)
• 5 times a day (daybreak, noon, mid-afternoon, evening, sunset)
• Alone or together, indoors or out• Preferable to pray with others, demonstrating
brotherhood• Face Mecca when praying, toward the Kaaba
(house of God believed to have been built by Abraham and Ismail)
• Once a week on Friday, gather for the Sabbath at a mosque or Islamic center
Zakat or Tithe
• Means “purification”• Individual and communal responsibility to
care for the poor• Not veiwed as Charity; it is an obligation• Functions as a form of social security
The fast of Ramadan
• Once a year in the 9th month of the Islamic calendar
• Represents the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammed
• IF health permits – abstain from food, drink and sexual activity from dawn to sunset
• A discipline to stimulate religious reflection• Ends with a special feast (resembles Christmas
with gifts, food, etc.)
Haji or the Pilgrimage
• At least once in a lifetime (if able) to Mecca• Every year more than 2,000,000 make the
journey to form a community of faith• Pilgrims wear simple clothing to symbolize
purity• The Eid al-Adha occurs toward the end:
The Feast of the Sacrifice
• an ancient stone structure that was built and re-built by prophets as a house of monotheistic worship
• located inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
• 15 meters high and 10-12 meters wide.
• an ancient, simple structure made of granite
• serves as a focal and unifying point among the Muslim people
According to the Qur'an, the Ka'aba was built by the prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael as a house of monotheistic worship
The Kaaba
Islamic Architecture• Built to accommodate as many worshippers as possible in prostrate
position: Communal Prayer• No elaborate ritual with a center of visual attention (like an altar)• Emphasizes horizontality as opposed to verticality (Christian
Churches). • Roofed part held up by a combination of arches/columns called a
hypostyle hall.• Worshipers face Mecca. Wall opposite entrance faces Mecca (quibla).• Quibla usually marked by a niche (often domed) called a mihrab.• Ornamentation prohibits use of graven images (no 3-D forms of
humans or animals)• Decorations utilize patterns of:
1. Geometric figures2. Intertwining plant forms3. Calligraphy of Arabic quotations from Quran.
• Exterior has at least one minaret, up which the muezzin climbs to call for prayer.
The Dome of the Rock
691
The Night Journey of Muhammad on His Steed, Buraq; leaf from a copy of the Bustan of Sacdi, dated 1514. From Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
• Built on the site of the first Temple of Solomon
• earliest still-extant Muslim structure
• built by Caliph Abd al-Malik in 691
• represents the Muslims' acquisition of a near-complete Romano-Byzantine architectural program
• atypical Islamic religious structure
• makes use of the pointed arch, which was later used in Romanesque churches
Islamic Art Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem• Houses the rock from which it
is said Mohammed ascended to heaven
• Octagonal plan• Inspired by centrally planned
churches• Commanding view of the dome
raised on a drum• Profusion of exterior and
interior decoration• Calligraphy• Arabesque• Tessellation• Inspired by rounded Roman
arches, but adding alternating striped stones
Islamic Architecture The Alhambra, Granada
• Originally a military fortification• Later reconstructed as a palace• Slender columns set inside walls
and abut window frames• Finely chiseled marble gives the
effect of transparency• Marble cut in honeycomb pattern on
ceiling• Stone inset in ceilings hangs like
stalactites, and double sets of windows provide light
• Small bubbling fountains provide relief
• Canals pass water among the buildings
• Calligraphy• Arabesque• Tessellation
Major emphasis on mathematics and symmetry
Escher's Sketch of the tessellations in Alhambra, Spain
Court of the Lions
• Fountain surrounded by lions, demonstrating some secular use of animal forms.
• Lion form derives from lamassu.
• Lions are crudely carved, indicating infrequency with subject in art.
• Poem carved in fountain rim describing how fierce the lions would be if not out of respect for the king.
Great Mosque, Córdoba, 786
Built by 'Abd al-Rahman I, who escaped from Syria to the Iberian Peninsula after his family was massacred by a rival political dynasty circa 750 by he Abassid revolt. Only surviving member of the Ummayyad dynasty. – 800 family members massacred at peace banquet
Consecrated as a Christian Cathedral in 1236 by Ferdinand III, king of Castille
Islamic Art
Great Mosque, Córdoba, begun in 786• An infinite sea of columns on the interior (columns
harvested from existing Roman and Visigothic buildings.• Short columns (c. 9 feet) necessitated 2-tiered arches to
raise ceiling and increase light.• Columns interlace with each other• Columns have capitals, but no bases• Arches are rounded, with alternating stripes (red brick and
white marble)• Columns represent endless number of worshippers• All face the mihrab• Rich, varied visual effects & highly decorative
Hypostyle Hall in Cordoba
The Taj Mahal
1640 - 43
Islamic Architecture
The Taj Mahal, Agra 1632-48
• Burial place of Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to her 14th child• Enclosed by a large red sandstone wall to provide a focused view• Vast symbolic image of Islamic paradise• Symmetrical• Harmonious• Minarets act to balance the composition• Typical of Islamic architecture: one large central arch, framed by two
smaller arches one above the other• Square plan with chamfered corners• Small kiosks around dome• Dome has an onion shape (ancestry in the Byzantine empire)• Intricate floral and geometric inlays• Calligraphy across façade and on interior
Great Mosque at Damascus, 705-711•The earliest Muslim building on a gigantic scale
•Built inside the fortified outer enclosure of a Roman sanctuary
•Had been a Christian church until caliph al-Walid I, demolished and used the material
•The square corner towers are the earliest known minarets – became common feature on many mosques
•Early interior decoration consisted of mosaics featuring landscapes and city scenes
•Flat uniform patterning similar to textile design
Palace at Mshatta, 743
•Square fortified palace•Note the sculpted façade which employs intricate plant forms and animals•Employs an arabesque pattern – forshadows the Islamic fascination with geometric interlacing which often dominates interior decoration•caliph Harun al-Rashid writes with Charlemagne
•Destroyed by Mongol hordes in 1258
Great Mosque at Samarra, 850
•Largest mosque in the world•Could have accomodated 100,000 people gathered for prayer•10 acres large•All that remains: exterior walls and 164’ high spiral minaret
Mosque of Ibn Tulun at Cairo, 877
•Well preserved•New Muslim city near Memphis in Egypt•The earliest of Islamic buildings in Cairo which had a great impact on Medieval architecture in Europe
•Aisled portico on the fourth wall contains several mihrabs (unusual)
•Sharply pointed arches suported by massive bricks piers into whose corners are set little columns (columnettes) – used extensively in Christian churches in the Middle Ages
•Vast spaces of courtyard and arcades produce an effect of spiritual granduer not to be seen until the Gothic churches.
The Great Mosque at Isfahan
15th - 18th centuries
Contains no less than 476 vaults, almost all domes
First of a new type with 4 iwans
The Madrasa of Sultan Hasan
14th Century
Mosque of Selim II, 1569
•Ottoman Empire begins around 1300•Located in Edirne•After the fall of Constantinople•This mosque based on the model of St. Sophia, even though a little different•Does use flying buttresses adapted from Gothic architecture•Designed by the great Islamic architect Sinan who also worked extensively in Constantinople
Calligraphy
Topkapi Palace Museum
Islamic Painting
• Human or animal figures of any kind theoretically banned
• Generally in effect against large-scale representational art for public display
• Ornate decorations on practical itmes (incense burners, cloth embroidery)
• Heavy use in book illustration• Merging of outside/inside• No sense of true 3-D space
Development of PaperA third important reason for the Golden Age was the establishment of a paper mill (factory) in Baghdad. Paper was first invented in China and then the Muslims learned how it was made. (Actually Chinese papermakers were taken prisoner and forced to teach their captors how to make paper) Soon paper replaced parchment (the skin of animals) and papyrus (a plant made into a kind of "paper" in ancient Egypt). The development of paper made it possible for a great many people to get books and learn from them. This was an important advance which affected education
and scholarship.
Bahram Gur in the Green PavilionKhamsa.Tabriz, 1481
Suleyman the Magnificent as a young man" Semailname,
Nakkas Osman 1579 Gentile Bellini "The Sultan Mehmet II" (1480) National
Gallery, London
Socrates and his StudentsMukhtar al-Hikam wa-Mahasin al-Kalim ('Choice Maxims and Finest Sayings')by Al-Mubashshir.Syria, beginning of 13th century