Islamic Art Introduction to Art History PDF

UAE U Islamic Art Introduction to Art History Dr. Clarisse Roche – HIS 133  Introduction: Creation of An Arab Empire After the death of Prophet Muhammad, unity was difficult to maintain. The companion and father-in-law of Prophet Muhammad, Abu Bakr, was ch...

UAE U Islamic Art Introduction to Art History Dr. Clarisse Roche – HIS 133  Introduction: Creation of An Arab Empire After the death of Prophet Muhammad, unity was difficult to maintain. The companion and father-in-law of Prophet Muhammad, Abu Bakr, was chosen to be the first Caliph, or successor to Prophet Muhammad. Abu Bakr helped to unify the Muslim world and expanded in Arabia and beyond. The Arabs were now united and expanded their territory instead of fighting each other. Within a decade of Muhammad’s death in 632, Muslims ruled Arabia, Palestine, Syria, Iraq, and northern Egypt. From there, the new religion spread rapidly both eastward and westward. Like Moses, Muhammad banned graven images and anything that resembled idolatry. Therefore, Islamic countries produced very little figurative art (people picture) and sculpture. But they excelled in architecture, decorative arts and calligraphy. Because the Muslims conquered so many different lands, the influx of influence was broad at first. But the Muslims soon developed a unique Islamic style.  A/ Umayyad Syria and Abbasid Iraq The Umayyads were the first Islamic dynasty. They ruled from their capital at Damascus (Syria) until the Abbasids overthrew them and established a new capital at Baghdad (Iraq). The first great Islamic building was the Dome of the Rock, a domed octagon commemorating the triumph of Islam in Jerusalem, which the Muslims captured from the Byzantines Umayyad and Abbasid mosques – for example, those in Damascus and Kairouan (Tunisia) – are of the hypostyle-hall type and incorporate arcaded courtyards and minarets. The earliest preserved Korans date to the ninth century and feature Kufic calligraphy and decorative motifs, but no figural illustrations. Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem Interior of the Dome of the Rock The Dome of the Rock is a domed central-plan rotunda in the Late Antique tradition. Its domed central-plan reminds of the Pantheon in Rome. At the centre, below the dome, is the rock associated with Adam, Abraham and Muhammad. Rotunda: a round building or a room, especially one View into the dome of the Rock The Dome of the Rock is the first great Islamic building. It was erected by the Umayyad caliph Abd al- Malik It is not a mosque but an architectural tribute to the triumph of Islam. It marked the coming of a new religion to the city that had been, and still is, sacred to both Jews and Christians. The Dome of the Rock rises from a huge platform. The significance of the site rely on the fact that it is the location of Adam’s grave and the spot where Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac. The rock that gives the building its name also later came to be identified with the place where Muhammad began his miraculous journey to Heaven (the Miraj) and then, in the same night, returned to his home in Mecca. Aerial view of the Great Mosque (looking north), Kairouan, Tunisia, The Great Mosque at Kairouan consists of a columnar prayer hall (with two domes) facing south toward Mecca, an arcaded forecourt and a minaret to call the Muslims to worship. Kairouan’s Great Mosque is an early example of the type of Mosque with a forecourt and a hypostyle prayer hall. The plan most closely resembles the layout of Muhammad’s house in Medina.  Since depictions of living things are forbidden, many Mosques are decorated with Arabesque and Arabic Calligraphy. In the Islamic world, the art of calligraphy, ornamental writing, held a place of honour. Muslim scribes wanted to reproduce the Koran’s sacred words in a script as beautiful as human hands could contrive. The practice of calligraphy was itself a holy task and required long and arduous training. The scribe had to possess exceptional spiritual refinement. An ancient Arabic proverb proclaims, “Purity of writing is purity of the soul”. Koran page with beginning of surah 18, The script used in 9th century. Ink and gold on vellum, the oldest-known Chester Beatty Library Korans is the stately rectilinear Kufic. Kufic derives from the city of Kufa, one of the famous centres for Arabic calligraphy.  Kufic script is quite angular. The five text lines are in black ink with red vowel, below a decorative band incorporating the chapter title in gold and ending in a palm- tree finial (a crowning ornament).  B / Islamic Spain  Abd-al-Rahman I established the Umayyad dynasty in Spain when he escaped the Abbasid massacre of his clan.  The Umayyad capital was at Cordoba, where the caliphs constructed and expanded the Great Mosque between the 8th and the 10th century. The mosque features horseshoe and multilobed arches and mosaic covered domes resting on arcuated squinches.  The last Spanish Muslim dynasty was the Nasrid, whose capital was at Granada. The Alhambra is the best surviving example of Islamic palace architecture. It is famous for its stuccoed walls and arches and its muqarnas decoration on vaults and domes.  In the Great Prayer hall of the Mezquita, Cordoba, Spain, 8th to 10th Mosque’s hypostyle prayer hall, century. columns support a series of double- tiered horseshoe- shaped arches (a).  Islamic architecture draws on diverse sources. (a (a ) The horseshoe ) arches of the Cordoba mosque’s prayer hall may derive from Visigothic architecture. The Arabs overthrew that Christian kingdom Horseshoe arch Multilobed arch  Inside the Mosque of Cordoba, hundreds of double-arched pillars support the mosque’s massive roof. An upper tier of arches straddles the lower arches.  Though the pillars are arranged in rows, they look like a vast stone forest fanning out in all directions. The complex vistas (=views) appear to interweave as you walk through the structure, making the mosque seem infinite.  The architecture gives you the sense of journeying toward god. The maze of aisles all lead to the qibla (praying area), which faces Mecca.  The fact that so many aisles lead to the same place suggests that there are many pathways to prayer, many roads to the divine. Each worshipper must find his own path. This is quite different from Christian churches, where a single, centre aisle leads to the altar, implying that there is only one path to God.  Muqarnas is basically a three- dimensional decoration of Islamic architecture Stucco is a cement-based plaster used as decorative coating for walls or ceilings.  Every mosque also has a mihrab (prayer niche) that faces Mecca. The entrance to the mihrab is usually elaborately decorated because it’s a symbolic gateway to the Holy City.  The mihrab of the Mosque of Cordoba, a domed chamber, is the architectural climax of the structure. The intricate carvings (known as Arabesque, meaning Arab-like) on the entrance arches look like a cross between script and ornament.  This feature is typical, a reflection of the fact that Arabs were masters of calligraphy. The centre of the mihrab dome is a stylized sculpted shell encrusted with a mosaic of blue, green, and reddish leaves and flowers on a golden background. The shell is encased in an eight-sided star, slashed by broad arcs that carry the dome’s weight to the supports. Muqarnas dome, Hall of the Abencerrajes, Palace of the Lions, Alhambra, Granada, Spain  The structure of this dome is octagonal; it is difficult to discern though, because of the intricately carved stucco muqarnas. The prismatic forms reflect sunlight, creating the effect of a starry sky. Court of the Lions, Palace of the Lions, Alhambra, Granada, Spain, The Nasrid Palace of the Lions takes its name from the fountain in this courtyard, a rare Islamic example of stone sculpture. Interwoven abstract ornamentation and Arabic calligraphy cover the stucco walls.  On a rocky spur at Granada, the Nasrids constructed a huge palace-fortress called the Alhambra (“the Red” in Arabic), named for the rose colour of the stone used for its wall and 23 towers.  By the end of the 14th century, half dozen royal residences. Only two of these were preserved. They owe their preservation to the Christian victors, who maintained a few of the buildings as trophies commemorating the expulsion of the Nasrids  The two palaces present a vivid picture of court life in Islamic Spain before the Christian reconquest.  Visitors to the Alhambra were very impressed by the elaborate stucco walls and ceilings in the Nasrids palaces.  C / Islamic Egypt  After the Mongol conquests, the centre of Islamic power moved from Baghdad to Egypt.  The lords of Egypt at the time were former Turkish slaves (mamluks in Arabic) who converted to Islam. The capital of the Mamluk sultan was Cairo.  The Mamluks were prolific builders, and Sultan Hasan was the most ambitious of them.  D / Ottoman Turkey  By the middle of the 15th century, the Ottoman Empire had become one of the great world powers.  The Ottoman emperors were lavish patrons of architecture, and the builders in their employ developed a new type of mosque, the core of which was a dome-covered square prayer hall.  The combination of dome and square had an appealing geometric clarity and became the nucleus of all Ottoman architecture. Sinan, Mosque of Selim II, Edirne, Turkey, The Ottomans developed a new type of mosque with dome- covered square prayer hall. The dome of Sinan’s Mosque of Selim II is an engineering triumph.