Islamic Art Influence

1524 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Relevance of art in religion

Muslims ruled a large empire for a long period of time. The influence of the Islamic Empire is demonstrated through the similarities of the arts and architecture from the Umayyad to the Ottomans. The issue is the museum website refers to all the art as Islamic Art, which is not the case. Depending on the observer, one can interpret whether all the art as Islamic or not. For instance, an orthodox Muslim might find only the art that contains calligraphy, geometry, and vegetal designs as Islamic. On the hand, a secular Muslim might find the all the arts including figural representations as Islamic. Besides religion, the art is grouped together based on time period, geography and the dynasty that ruled. To recognize how the empire developed and …show more content…

Abd-al-Malik changes the common Byzantine coins that have icons and figures on it to Arabic script from the Quran. This is one of the most important change the Umayyad brought to the Islamic Empire. In some ways it set a precedence of the importance of calligraphy in Islamic art, which continues to be used to this day. By replacing the coins that had leaders on them to Quranic verses, the Umayyad caliphate unified the Islamic Empire and emphasized the power of God and not humans. When the Abbasid Dynasty came into power, the last ruler of the Umayyad dynasty fled to Spain and became the ruler there and became the Amir of the state and ruled for a long time. The Islamic Empire there adapted to the arts influenced by the majority non-Muslims in …show more content…

It was no different for the Muslims. Islamic Art has many influences from the conquered. Despite the influence and cultural exchanges between many empires, Islam maintained its unique style of art and architecture of calligraphy, vegetal work, and geometric shapes. Over the vast empire and the long period of ruling, the cultural exchanges between Islamic Empire and other empires influenced the arts and architecture that still impacts the culture of that area today. But it is also important to be mindful that not all the art is

Show More
Related

  • Comparing the Post-Classical Empires of Arabia and the Byzantine.

    977 Words  | 2 Pages

    The political structure of the Arabian and Byzantine empires greatly differed from each other. The Arabian empire was ruled over by a Caliphate. The Caliphate was the successor to the great prophet Muhammad. Politically, the Caliphate sometimes caused trouble for the stability of the empire. With multiple groups such as the Umayyad and the Abbasid believing the were in charge of the Caliphate led to conflicts and violence. An example of conflict would be towards the end of the Abbasid empire when the death of Harun al-Rashid brought several full scale revolutions. Another example would be at the beginning of Abbasid empire when they went as far as too kill off all of the remaining Umayyad leaders to sustain full control with little to no interference. Politically, the Arab/Muslim empire stretched from India and the Middle East into the Africa, the Mediterranean, and Iberia. They also had a large influence in Southeast Asia. When they conquered these areas, there was no forced conversion. On the other hand, they did enforce a higher tax for non-Muslims which prompted people to convert. Only later were there violently forced conversions. A testimony to this would be when the Muslims invaded India and did not touch the Buddhist or Hindus already there. They even respected the Hindu leadership and allowed them to continue. The Muslim empire was successful in other parts of the world due to tolerance, and continued to operate in the face of power struggles.

    Read More

  • Art History Essay

    767 Words  | 2 Pages

    History plays a very important role in the development of art and architecture. Over time people, events, and religion, have contributed to the evolution of art. Christianity has become a very common and well established religion, however, in the past it was hidden and a few people would worship this religion secretly. Gradually, Christianity became a growing religion and it attracted many converts from different social statuses. Christian art was highly influenced by the Greco-Romans, but it was immensely impacted by the establishment of the Edict of Milan in the year 313 AD. The Edict of Milan was so significant that scholars divide Christian art into two time periods, time before and after the Edict of Milan of 313.

    Read More

  • Why Did Early Islamic Empire Expansion?

    355 Words  | 1 Pages

    The early Islamic Empire expanded by war, and making peace. In Document A: Battle of the Yarmuk, it talks about the war going on between the Muslims and The Greeks. Then Document B: Treaty of Tudmir, it talks about a treaty that the Muslims made with Theodemir, which was the Christian King of the region in southern Spain.

    Read More

  • LA County Museum of Art

    1267 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, or LACMA as it is commonly known, is among the world’s largest art collections in North America, and to be specific enough the most prevalent artwork in the western United States (Compton 165). This massive art museum has a collection of over 100,000 artworks, which extends from the ancient times to present days (Gilbert and Mills 174). These collections, which are mainly from Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin-America and America itself, are grouped into several departments within the museums buildings, depending on the region, culture, media, and time period. This paper analyzes the different genres of art and explains the main features that make the Islamic artworks distinguish themselves as historic masterpieces, by using stylistic and interpretive analysis methods.

    Read More

  • Comparing the Hagia Sophia and the Suleymanye Mosques in Istambul

    971 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the following essay, I will be comparing the Hagia Sophia in the City of Istanbul, and the Suleymaniye Mosque of Istanbul. Both of these pieces of art are very significant to the in modern-day Turkey. The art pieces will be covered in more detail further on in this comparative essay, and finally, I will be judging the pieces at the end of this essay

    Read More

  • Essay

    1739 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.” The Nature of Islamic Art. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/orna/hd_orna.htm (accessed May 1, 2014).

    Read More

  • The Islam and The Islamic Empire

    659 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout his life, the Muslim ummah, Arabic for “community” began, which was the basis for the Empire.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Spread Of Islam Dbq

    657 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Muslim Empire began to expand vastly under the Umayyads, with the empire becoming so large many people were converting to Islam religion. The Umayyads were the second of the four major caliphates after the death of Muhammad. The Empire used many different ways to spread the Islamic civilization consisting of war, classes, and appeal. The Islamic civilization spread so strongly because of the way it allured the common man.

    Read More

  • Art and Religion in Ancient Egyptian Society

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ancient Egyptian’s lives were surrounded by art. The Invention of Art is a part of them up to this day. Other than Architecture, Painting was one of the major arts the Egyptians made. Artists were a big part of the society.

    Read More

  • Egyptian Art Essay

    1647 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many people are familiar with the pyramids and tombs of Ancient Egypt, yet not as many know about the different types of art created by the lower classes. Documentaries, movies, and television shows rarely mention the more standard art that was created, that didn’t take years of hard labor to create. This art can be compared to the drawings that many people make today, as a hobby to do in their freetime. The only difference is that the Egyptians made art for more practical purposes, and rarely for fun. You would likely find a lot of these pieces in plebian burial sites, or packed away in museum storage. Though they lack the renown of the pyramids and tombs, the different styles and types of art created by the Ancient Egyptians have just as much value as the larger accomplishments, but for different reasons.

    Read More

  • The Spread of Islam

    813 Words  | 2 Pages

    Islamic civilization began in Arabia, but it spread to many areas in the proximity of the peninsula. It spread as far as Spain, as well as many areas between the two locations. The civilization reached the Eastern Roman Empire, Persia, Egypt, and Africa. The Muslim warriors were extremely courageous, and their religious zeal aided in the conquests of many empires surrounding Arabia. However, the weakn...

    Read More

  • African Art Influence

    1010 Words  | 3 Pages

    All artists, be they painters, musicians, sculptors, or any other type of artist, all are influenced by the things around them. Some place, some thing, or even some person influences every stroke of the brush, every pluck of the chord, and every crash of the chisel. One such influence was the influence of traditional African art on Modernist artists, Expressionist architects, and many other artists. In fact, traditional African sculpture was a powerful influence on modernist artists such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, and Expressionist architects such as Bruno Taut, Erich Mendelsohn, Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, and Hans Poelzig all of whom reflect the core of traditional African art

    Read More

  • Roman and Islamic Art and Architecture

    527 Words  | 2 Pages

    When walking around a city, you may notice that the architecture and art look similar to other works. Many of these designs have changed along the course of history and time whilst others have not. The designs that many people still see in society and day to day living is from two of the many cultures of the old civilizations, Roman and Islamic. The art and architecture forms from the Islamic and Roman cultures have many comparisons and contrasts between them. They, the Islamic and Roman nations, have both adopted from other cultures and have made their own discoveries in the art and architecture worlds. The Roman and Islamic architecture and art vary drastically from each other and yet have varying comparisons between the two.

    Read More

  • Early Christian and Byzantine Art

    724 Words  | 2 Pages

    Byzantine art had many basic characteristics. The first was expressionistic using color and emotion. Many of the are lacked depth in a two dimensional fashion. The art was symbolic in nature, decorative, detailed. The figures are stiff and ...

    Read More

  • Early Christian Art

    2520 Words  | 6 Pages

    The most influential theme in art for centuries was that of religion. There have been many things that have influenced art over the generations. Nothing has had the impact on the art world that religions has. Many of the ancient art works were dedicated to the gods or other religious figures. The statues of the Ancient Egyptians were not just for beauty. Instead, they were representations of the gods and were meant to have significant meaning to the people who saw them. The people of the time knew the meaning of every reed, flower, bird, or animal that was depicted in the art. The same is true of the Greeks and Romans. Most of the art was inspired by the gods and the mythology of the region. Art as a way of imparting a message dominates the art world. For most of history, art had a meaning that was often connected to the religion of the region. This is fitting since art has a sense of permanence that most other mediums do not possess.

    Read More

More about Islamic Art Influence

Open Document