There exist three basic components of traditional Islamic art: calligraphy, geometric patterns, and floral and vegetal motifs. These three stylistic tools are beautifully rendered and masterfully integrated into complex works of art, but there is no question that artistic expression is severely limited under these categorizations. However, this limitation stems from Islamic theology and concept of art. The main reason for the limitation imposed on visual art is the Islamic theological prohibition of figural imagery. Social laws presented in the Hadith prevented the representation of figures because any imitation was deemed idolatrous. Also, art is considered to be decorative and imitative. Script and patterns are used to decorate objects, whether they be architectural structures, prayer rugs, ceramics, and books. The geometric objects naturally led to artistic patterning and repetition. Although the Islamic community prohibited figural imagery, the community’s rapid expansion during the centuries after its inception diluted the rigidity of traditional customs. Assimilated countries and cultures that practiced figural art before the Islamic armies came continued to do so. These assimilated artistic styles did utilize figural imagery, yet they still reflected the traditional artistic components of Islam. The introductory plaque at the entrance of the Islamic Art collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art states that Islamic art is characterized by ‘stasis,’ and that even assimilated foreign styles have “always retained its intrinsic quality and unique identity.” The beautifully rendered book miniatures of the Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp illustrate this last point wonderfully. The Shahnama, translated as “The Book of Kings,” is an Iranian national epic penned by the poet Firdausi between 975-1010 AD. Centuries later, it became the custom for shahs to have their own personal copy of the Shahnama. This naturally transformed the quality of the book into measurement of status. The second shah of the Safavid dynasty, Tahmasp, was a great patron of the arts. Not only did he have his copy ornamented with gold, silver, rich colors, and exquisite calligraphy, he employed the most distinguished artists of the time to paint the two-hundred-and fifty-eight inked figural miniature paintings that accompany each page of text. Although all the miniatures are of similar style,...
... middle of paper ...
...y man. Though the painting may imply universal plight, the depiction represents a particular moment in time. Although violent, the miniature presents the moment of apprehension, the moment before the impact of the sword and the resulting death through which one leaves the mortal realm for the divine. In fact, the uniform face heightens the tension of the painting, because the observer gets no sense of the warrior’s predictions of victory or defeat. The outcome is unknown to the warriors, even though symbolically Allah knows for the result is written above in the text. Even the observer of the work knows following his or her reading. The warrior’s ignorance only makes the fated defeat and death more tragic. The war ends in a Sufarai victory and the national honor of pre-Islamic Iran is restored. Interestingly, Islamic history has nothing to do with the content of the story, yet its influence is apparent in the Arabic text, geometric designs, floral motifs, and resulting implications. Though breaking the proscription of images, the “Sufarai Victory Over the Haital, as well as all the miniatures in Tahmasp’s Shahnama, retain the “intrinsic quality and unique identity” of Islamic art.
Firstly, Neshat introduces the role of Iranian artists. She discusses how it is relatively distinct due to their existence being characterised by politics. According to Neshat (2010), artists hold a vital place in society as the mouthpiece of the people. Many feel pressurised to fulfil their social obligation to communicate the realities of their political, cultural and societal situation to both the Iranian public and the western world. For example, the script in Speechless (see Figure 1) symbolises what
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.
When looking at the Abbasid caliphate, the mere thought of an Islamic age of scientific learning characterizes the time period with several caliphs endorsing the arts passionately. These caliphs, specifically Al Mansur and Haroun Al-Rashid, all looked at the arts with an intense, burning awareness in that their values, priorities, and personality traits that distinguish their reigns differ quite significantly. Despite Haroun Al Rashid’s brief glimpses of rage that changes the view of the audience of the great caliph, the reign of Al Mansur was only slightly more brutal and hated; but its important to note that that the two caliphs did in fact usher in a new age of rulers who had an extraordinary amount of appreciation for the arts.
In Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis and in Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone, both authors commentate on the romanticism of violence that is often associated with war. Because of this, the authors are able to dispel misconceptions surrounding war. Furthermore, the memoirs allow the authors reflect upon their own experiences of war during their childhoods, as well as examine how cultural shifts perpetuated by both war and the increased influence of western culture that took place within their cultures shaped who they became. Through their memoirs, the authors portray the reality of war and violence through cultural experiences.
The first art that interested me was the art of Indonesia which in this exhibit depicted the culture, history and art of Indonesian people. For instance, Bali a small island in the Indonesia valued most of its art based on the rich resources they occupied such as most art was composed of gold, diamond and sapphires which people of Bali believed that it will resemble their higher standards in the society. Art of Bali amazed me the most when it came to their “King’s crown” and “Queen’s crown” which was completely “fashioned in pure gold with diamonds, rubies, and sapphires” (Bali). The king’s crown was much simpler compare to queen’s crown which contained many varied of gold decorative that looked like gold flowers, and all of its designs such as rubies or sapphires were perfectly horizontally lined to each other that sort of depicted as a shiny necklace. The Bali’s art that I observed was very interesting know about the society they lived in those centuries with representation of their upscale society (Bali).
Assyrian Art The reliefs from the palace of King Assurnasirpal II at Nimrud play an important role in portraying the power and importance of the Assyrian king. These reliefs are similar to other Assyrian reliefs in terms of their purpose; however, there is a contrast in the methods used to glorify the king. By examining such factors as style, iconography and historical significance, we find many similarities and differences between the "ceremonial" reliefs and the more common reliefs depicting war and hunting. The reliefs belonging to the sacred or "ceremonial" category consist of panels depicting a sacred tree, a human headed genius fertilizing a sacred tree, a griffin fertilizing a sacred tree, and a scene of King Assurnasirpal (whose name comes from the god "Assur") followed by a winged genius.
The Islamic Golden Age began in the 7th century to the end of the 13th century. The Islamic Golden age is the era in which the Muslims created one of the largest empires. The Golden Ages started with the Prophet Muhammad. There were two Islamic Golden Ages. The first Golden Age lasting about two centuries from the 7th century to the 9th century. In the first Golden Age, society is being integrated in political, social, and moral dimensions in Islam (Lapidus 14). The second Golden Age lasted about five centuries from the 9th century to the 14th century. During the second Golden Age the state and religious institutions were separate, leaving the political and religious elites divided (Lapidus 13). Muhammad, not an immense influence starting out,
Honour, Hugh. "Sacred and Secular Art." A World History of Art. N.p.: Lawrence King, 2005. 369-72. Print.
The tolerability of depictions of Muhammad in Islam has been a very controversial issue. Oral and written descriptions are ungrudgingly acknowledged by all customs of Islam, however there are clear discrepancies concerning the opinions about visual illustrations. (Arnold, 1919) The Quran does not expressly prohibit pictures of Muhammad, but there are several supplemental teachings of the hadith that have unambiguously denied Muslims the right to produce any visual portrayals of him whatsoever. (Buk̲ārī, Qasṭallānī, 1970) It is generally agreed on all sides that there is no entirely genuine convention with regards to the visual representation of Muhammad, even in spite of the fact that there a plethora of early legends of pictures and complete physical depictions whose legitimacy is regularly acknowledged.
Man has always found pleasure in expressing himself by creating art. Through the centuries, man’s art has left behind clues and insight that enables the generations of today to understand their ancestors. In particular, historians and artist alike can see what certain Asian sculptures reflect of the culture and religious beliefs of Hinduism and Buddhism. Hinduism is the parent religion to Buddhism; much like Judaism is to Christianity. Despite Buddhism and Hinduism sharing similar philosophies and various idealisms, their respective sculptures also show their differences. There are two important characteristic of the sculptures of these religions. The first is motion versus rest, and second the subject matter. It is these two types of characteristics historians and artist can help use to decipher Hindu and Buddhist sculptures.
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.
Seemingly static in appearance, to the untrained eye, Egyptian Art is somewhat formal and blocky, with very little to no naturalism; in opposition to ancient western art such as Greek and Roman artistic traditions. (Neer, 2012) However, Egyptian Art serves a purpose that celebrates the afterlife as well as appreciating life. Egyptian visual imagery expressed animals not in the typically assumed static and rigid form, but in naturalistic dynamism that is largely ignored in general Egyptian Art scholarship. Ancient Egyptian art endures a steady artistic tradition and despite various changes and modification in style occurred during the 3,000 years pharaohs ruled; they are recognizably Egyptian in origin. What was wholly unique was the artistic
The Achievements of The Islamic Civilization Islam, one of the most successful religions was started by Muhammad in Arabia and had a massive impact on the world. If it weren't for Islam the world would have been a very different place to live in. Muslims didn't always invent things; sometimes they improved on other people's inventions e.g. the number system, the astrolabe and much more. The first Muslims were Arabs and they went on to conquer many countries.
In the reading, Peering through the cracks in Baburnana: the texturized lives of Mughal Sovereigns, author Azfar Moin, an assistant professor in south Asian history at Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, explores the “intertwined literary and political processes that moulded the texts of Mughal sovereigns” through the life of Akbar. Moin argues that the texts “participated” in the making of the new institutions of kingship and sainthood. One can make the argument that Mughal paintings were used as a means to express royal power and dynastic legitimacy. For example, early in the life of Akbar, he enjoyed hearing stories of his grandfather’s (Amir Hamza) military expeditions. He loved them so much that once he had became an emperor, Akbar gathered artists and writers to produce the story of Amir Hamza military expedition of him dominating Iran through bravery and war (changing it from Zoroaster to Islam) to depict him as a brave warrior. And so, 1400 folio...
Human’s have always struggled to express themselves. Art, is considered by many to be the ultimate form of human expression. Many assume that art has a definition, but this is not the case. Art, it can be said, is “in the eye of the beholder.” This simply means that what you consider art, someone else would not. Art is part of a person’s internal emotions, which signifies why different people see art as different things. Every type of culture and era presents distinctive and unique characteristics. Different cultures all have different views of what art can, and would be, causing art itself to be universally renowned throughout the world.