3. DEFINITION
ISLAMIC ART
” is a label coined in the West in the nineteenth century. Unlike “Christian art” or “Buddhist art,” it
does not describe art with a particular set of religious imagery.
has few exclusively religious symbols comparable to the Christian cross. Instead, the term
“Islamic art” designates all art, religious or secular, that was produced in lands under Muslim
leadership.
4. The most important outlets for artistic expression in the
Islamic world were:-
architecture
the arts of the book (calligraphy, manuscript illumination, and
bookbinding)
the arts of the object (especially metalwork, ceramics, glass, and
textiles)
5. CONTINUED
And each of these was ornamented with a particularly Islamic vocabulary of surface decoration:
- calligraphy
- arabesques,
- scrolling patterns, and fl oral or plant designs
- geometric designs
6. ISLAMIC
ARCHITECTURE
How did it begin?
By following the tradition of the
Prophet, i.e. building a mosque
when they start to occupy a new
settlement
Transformation of buildings
used by the people before the
Muslims took over the state /
country, for e.g. Hagia Sophia in
Istanbul, Turkey
7. THE DEFINITION
- Islamic architecture is the entire range of architecture that has
evolved from Islam as a social, cultural, political and religious
phenomenon. Hence the term encompasses religious buildings as well
as secular ones, historic as well as modern expressions, and the
production of all places that have come under the varying levels of
Islamic influence.
9. ELEMENTS OF ISLAMIC STYLE
Large domes
Minarets
Large courtyard often merged with a central praying hall
Use of geometric shape and repetitive art (arabesque)
Extensive use of decorative Arabic calligraphy
Use of symmetry and ablution fountain
A mihrab inside mosque to indicate the direction of Mecca
Use of bright color
Focus on interior of space rather than exterior
10. INTERPRETATION OF ISLAMIC STYLE
- The concept of Allah’s infinite power is evoked by design with repetitive theme which
suggests infinity
- Figurative forms are rarely depicted in decorative art as Allah’s work is matchless.
Foliage is a frequent motif but typically stylized or simplified
- The use of calligraphy is actually means of education and reminder as they are taken
from the verses of al-Quran
- It has been called the ‘architecture of the veil’ because the beauty lies in the inner
spaces which are not visible from the outside
- Use of impressive forms such as large domes, towering minarets and large courtyard
has both symbolic meaning and scientific purposes
11. INFLUENCES IN ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
Basically, these are the famous styles that has influence the Islamic architecture
Moorish architecture
Timurid architecture
Ottoman architecture
Mughal architecture
Tip… Islamic architecture In Asia and South East Asia, Islamic architecture blend
into the regional architecture because the influence of previous religions or
culture was stronger
13. CALLIGRAPHY
Islam developed in a nomadic Arab culture that valued poetry and oral tradition. The
faith’s fundamental basis is the message of God that was given to and relayed by the
Prophet Muhammad, and that is preserved in the Qur’an. While Christians accept
Christ as God’s incarnation, Muhammad does not share God’s divinity.
The priority of the words themselves, rather than the messenger, left Islam with little
use for iconic images like those that developed in early Christianity. Instead, the
emphasis on the words and the language of God’s message elevated the script in which
they were recorded.
Calligraphy beautiful writing became the most revered of all the arts. It was used on
buildings and art of all types to communicate the words of the Qur’an or other
messages but also for its decorative effect.
15. ARABESQUES
Scrolling patterns of plant and floral motifs were part of the visual vocabulary Islamic art inherited
from its early Byzantine and Sasanian predecessors.
They became so identified with Islamic art that in the West they came to be called “arabesques.”
Much of the Islamic world is arid and hot, and vegetation is scarce. Although too much can be
made of the influence of this environment on art, it is perhaps natural that images of paradise
reflect a lush world, full of flowers and fragrance, and well watered by cooling streams and that
these would be considered beautiful as ornament
16. GEOMETRIC DESIGNS
Repeating geometric patterns express and embody unity within diversity and the harmony that
governs all things. They satisfy the Islamic principles of tawhid (the unity of all things) and mizan
(order and balance) and in so doing, they reflect the perfection of God’s creation. Allah, the
Qur’an says “ordered all things.…”
17. CHARACTERISTICS OF ISLAMIC GEOMETRIC DESIGNS
They are made up of a small number of repeated geometric elements
They are two-dimensional. Islamic designs often have a background and foreground pattern
They are not designed to fit within a frame
