The writings were created using various shapes and sizes of the letters and numbers and they led to the formation of pieces of art that combined the teachings of the deity with the comprehension capacity of the humans (Osborn, 2008).
The Arabic calligraphy as such played a dual role -- on the one hand, it preserved the religious values; on the other hand, it, in its essence, represented a form of art and a representation revealing the religion, but also in the same time, being different from the messages it transmitted. In this setting, the calligraphy became sufficiently able to replace imagery in the Islamic arts.
Yet, the complete elimination of imagery from the texts and works of art in the Islamic world was impossible at an exhaustive level. In some instances then, this translated into the combined usage of imagery and calligraphy. In other words, calligraphy sometimes developed to also include imagery elements, and to transmit complex messages. For instance, some of the symbols and works were difficult to decipher and this was explained by the fact that the pieces contained not only letters, but also other shapes that transmitted the tones, the patterns or the emotions in the representations (Osborn, 2008).
Another important angle from which to assess the importance of the Arabic calligraphy for the Islamic arts is represented by the writings on the mosques. These writings contained elements from the Qur'an and depicted them in an aesthetic manner. The shapes were turned and arranged in a melodic manner and they resulted in a work of art that not only transmitted the divine message, but also enchanted the eye of the viewer.
The absence of imagery from the Islamic arts is often associated with the artistic inferiority of the Muslim world. And this is best viewed in relationship to the Renaissance in Europe, when arts flourished and paintings...
The emphasis on handicrafts also means that Islamic art does not have a focus on the output of individual artists like Western art. Prophetic sayings like "God likes that when you do anything, you do it excellently," have "provided the impetus for Muslims' embellishment and beautification of their places of worship, homes, and even of articles in common use in everyday life. The emphasis in Islamic art is on
178). For example, Sakkal reports that, "The measuring system of Ibn Muqlah is based on a circle with a diameter that equals the height of the letter Alef. It controls the correct proportions of the letters by comparing them to the circle, and by diagonal dots written with the calligraphy pen" (1993:9). In his analysis of Ibn Muqla's role in the standardization of the geometrical basis of Arabic writing,
An important influence on Renaissance architecture was the Dome of the Rock, famous for its spatial harmony, balance and overall perfection. . . . The Dome of the Rock is basically a Byzantine building [with] classical columns, topped by arches in alternating black and white marble, the dome, and the gold and semi-precious mosaics that decorate the walls all speak of Byzantine heritage" (p. 119). Some scholars, though, have argued
Introduction This paper discusses Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Dohar, Qatar. It examines the historical developments of the museum, which was founded recently in 2010 with a collection of works provided by Sheikh Hassan bin Mohammed Ali al-Thani (Raza 2011). Mathaf, which simply means “museum” in Arabic, now boasts a collection of over 6000 works “spanning the late 19th century to the present” (Raza 2011). This paper provides an
LACMA Artifacts One of the strengths of the collections at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is collection of works from the ancient Near East. This paper examines two of those artifacts, discussing both their aesthetics properties as well as the historical, political and cultural context in which the two works were created. These works - although they provide only the barest glimpse into the complexities of cultural and religious
role of Islam as a unifying force Perhaps more than any other religion in the world, Islam has put to work its less obvious sense in order to unify the peoples sharing the same belief. Through its art, its common language and its judicial system that has the Koran teachings at its base, Islam was a unifying force among the Arabic peoples of the Arabic Peninsula, Northern Africa and the
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