TIME PERIOD: 630 C.E. TO THE PRESENT
ENDURING UNDERSTANDING: The culture, beliefs, and physical settings of a region play an important role in the creation, subject matter, and siting of works of art.
Learning Objective: Discuss how the culture, beliefs, or physical setting can influence the making of a work of art. (For example: the Kaaba)
Essential Knowledge:
■Islamic art is a part of the medieval artistic tradition.
■In the Islamic period, scientific and mathematical experimentation was prioritized.
■Islamic art incorporates text.
■Islamic artists created ceramics and metalwork that are particularly well-regarded.
■Islamic textiles include silk and wool used for tapestries and carpets.
■Islamic manuscripts are written on paper, cloth, or vellum.
■Islamic art favors a two-dimensional approach to painting, emphasizing geometric designs and organic forms.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDING: Cultural interaction through war, trade, and travel can influence art and art making.
Learning Objective: Discuss how works of art are influenced by cultural interaction. (For example: Baptistère de Saint Louis)
Essential Knowledge:
■There is an active exchange of artistic ideas throughout the Middle Ages.
■There is a great influence of Roman, Early Medieval, and Byzantine art on Islamic art.
■Islamic art has a strong calligraphic tradition.
■Even though Islamic art is produced over a wide geographic area, it has a number of shared similarities and characteristics.
■There is a strong pilgrimage tradition in Islam.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDING: Art and art making can be influenced by a variety of concerns including audience, function, and patron.
Learning Objective: Discuss how art can be influenced by audience, function, and/or patron. (For example: Pyxis of al-Mughira)
Essential Knowledge:
■Works of art were often displayed in religious or court settings.
■Architecture is mostly religious.
■Often great works of Islamic art were created for royal and wealthy patrons.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDING: Art history is best understood through an evolving tradition of theories and interpretations.
Learning Objective: Discuss how works of art have had an evolving interpretation based on visual analysis and interdisciplinary evidence. (For example: The Ardabil Carpet)
Essential Knowledge:
■The study of art history is shaped by changing analyses based on scholarship, theories, context, and written records.
■Contextual information comes from written records that are religious or civic.
■Islamic art created for religious purposes is not figural.
■Mosque architecture contains no figural imagery, but it does have geometric, calligraphic, and organic decoration.
■In a secular context, Islamic art is sometimes figural especially in manuscript painting.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The Prophet Muhammad’s powerful religious message resonated deeply with Arabs in the seventh century, and so by the end of the Umayyad Dynasty in 750 C.E., North Africa, the Middle East and parts of Spain, India, and Central Asia were converted to Islam or were under the control of Islamic dynasties. The Islamic world expanded under the Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled a vast empire from their capital in Baghdad. After the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258, the Islamic world split into two great cultural divisions, the East, consisting of South and Central Asia, Iran, and Turkey; and the West, which included the Near East and the Arabic peninsula, North Africa, parts of Sicily and Spain.
Islam exists in two principal divisions, Shiite and Sunni, each based on a differing claim of leadership after Muhammad’s death. Even though millions practice and continue to share a similar faith, there is great diversity in Islamic religious and artistic traditions.
Patronage and Artistic Life
Major artistic movements in the Islamic world are the result of patronage by secular and religious rulers and the social elite. Other objects much valued today, such as textiles, metalwork, and ceramics were produced for the art market, both at home and abroad.
One of the most popular art forms in the Islamic world is calligraphy, which is based upon the Arabic script and varies in form depending on the period and region of its production. Calligraphy is considered to be the highest art form in the Islamic world as it is used to transmit the texts revealed from God to Muhammad. Calligraphers therefore were the most respected Islamic artists. Most early artists were humble handmaidens to the art form—and to God—therefore many remained anonymous. However, by the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, writing examples are signed or attributed to specific calligraphers. Even royalty dabbled in calligraphy, raising the art form to new heights. Apprenticeships were exacting, making students master everything including the manufacture of ink and the correct posture for sitting while writing.
ISLAMIC PAINTING AND SCULPTURE
Islamic art features three types of patterns—arabesques, calligraphy, and tessellation (Figures 9.1, 9.2, and 9.3, respectively)—used on everything from great monuments to simple earthenware plates; sometimes all three are used on the same item.
Favorite arabesque motifs include acanthus and split leaves, scrolling vines, spirals, wheels, and zigzags. Calligraphy is highly specialized, and comes in a number of recognized scripts, including Kufic. The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters from 17 different shapes, and is written from right to left. Arabic numerals, however, are written left to right as they are in the West. Kufic is highly distinguished, and has been reserved for official texts, indeed has been the traditional, but not the only, script for the Qur’an. It has evolved into a highly ornamental style, and therefore is difficult for the average reader to decipher. Tessellations, or the repetition of geometric designs, demonstrate the Islamic belief that there is unity in multiplicity. Their use can be found on objects as disparate as open metalwork and stone decorations. Perforated ornamental stone screens, called jali, were a particular Islamic specialty.
Figure 9.1: Arabesque
Figure 9.2: Islamic calligraphy with arabesque
All of these designs, no matter how complicated, were achieved with only a straightedge and a compass. Islamic mathematicians were thinkers of the highest order; geometric elements reinforced their idea that the universe is based on logic and a clear design. Patterns seem to radiate from a central point, although any point can be thought of as the start. These patterns are not designed to fit a frame, rather to repeat until they reach the edge, and then by inference go beyond that.
Islamic textiles, carpets in particular, are especially treasured. Elaborate prayer rugs, often bearing the mihrab motif, are placed on mosque floors to provide a clean and comfortable spot for the worshipper to kneel on. Royal factories made elaborate carpets, in which it was usual to have hundreds of knots per square inch. In tribal villages, women were often the manufacturers of smaller carpets with designs created by either the knotting or the flat-weave technique.
Islamic art is intellectual, refined, and decorative; it contains no strong emotions and no pathos, but exhibits serene harmony.
Although the Qur’an does not ban images, there is an active tradition in many Islamic countries to avoid religious imagery whenever possible. Some societies strictly adhere to the prohibition, others allow floral designs and animal motifs, still others disregard the traditional ban.
Figure 9.3: Tessellation
Figure 9.4: Pyxis of al-Mughira, Umayyad, 968, ivory, Louvre, Paris
Pyxis of al-Mughira, Umayyad, 968, ivory, Louvre, Paris (Figure 9.4)
Form
■Horror vacui.
■Vegetal and geometric motifs.
Material
■Intricately carved container made from elephant ivory.
Function
■Container for expensive aromatics, sometimes also used to hold jewels, gems, or seals.
■Gift for the caliph’s younger son.
Content
■Four polylobed medallion scenes showing pleasure activities of the royal court: hunting, falconry, sports, music.
Context
■Calligraphic inscription in Arabic names the owner, asks for Allah’s blessings, and includes the date of the pyxis.
■From Muslim Spain.
Content Area Early Europe and Colonial Americas, Image 57
Web Source https://www.qantara-med.org/public/show_document.php?do_id=1042&lang=en
■Cross-Cultural Comparisons for Essay Question 1: Luxury Items
–Ruler’s feather headdress (Figure 26.6)
–Merovingian looped fibulae (Figure 10.1)
–Basin (Baptistère de Saint Louis) (Figure 9.6)
Folio from a Qur’an, Arab, North Africa or Near East, Abbasid, 8th–9th century, ink, color, and gold on parchment, Pierpont Morgan Library, New York (Figure 9.5)
Figure 9.5: Folio from a Qur’an, Arab, North Africa or Near East, Abbasid, 8th–9th century, ink, color, and gold on parchment, Pierpont Morgan Library, New York
Form
■The title of each chapter is scripted in gold.
■Script is rigidly aligned in strong horizontal letters well-spaced apart in brown ink.
■Kufic script: strong uprights and long horizontals.
■Great clarity of text is important because several readers read a book at once, some at a distance.
■Arabic reads right to left.
■Consonants are scripted, vowels are indicated by dots or markings around the other letters.
■The diacritical markings of short diagonal lines and red dots indicate vocalizations.
■Pyramids of six gold discs mark the ends of ayat (verses).
Figure 9.6: Muhammad ibn al-Zain, Basin (Baptistère de Saint Louis), 1320–1340, brass inlaid with gold and silver, Louvre, Paris
Function
■The Qur’an is the Muslim holy book.
Context
■Qur’ans were compiled and codified in the mid-seventh century; however, the earliest surviving Qur’an is from the ninth century.
■Calligraphy is greatly prized in Qur’anic texts; elaborate divine words needed the best artists.
■Illustrated is the heading of sura 29 (al-’Ankabūt, or “The Spider”) in gold.
■The text indicates that those who believe in protectors other than Allah are like spiders who build flimsy homes.
Content Area West and Central Asia, Image 187
Web Source https://www.themorgan.org/collection/treasures-of-islamic-manuscript-painting/7
■Cross-Cultural Comparisons for Essay Question 1: Calligraphy
–Book of Lindisfarne (Figure 10.2c)
–Night Attack on the Sanjô Palace (Figures 25.3a, 25.3b)
–Vienna Genesis (Figures 8.7a, 8.7b)
Muhammad ibn al-Zain, Basin (Baptistère de Saint Louis), 1320–1340, brass inlaid with gold and silver, Louvre, Paris (Figure 9.6)
Function
■Original use: ceremonial hand washing; perhaps a banqueting piece.
■Later use: baptisms for the French royal family (association with Saint Louis is fictional); coats-of-arms originally on the work were reworked with French fleur-de-lys.
Content
■Signed by the artist six times.
■Hunting scenes alternate with battle scenes along the side of the bowl.
■Mamluk hunters and Mongol enemies.
■Bottom of bowl decorated with fish, eels, crabs, frogs, and crocodiles.
Patronage
■There is no patron or date identifying the work, although some scholars feel that the basin is connected to the amir Salar (d. 1310), whose image may be prominently depicted on one of the roundels; in that regard it may have been a gift from Salar to a sultan.
■Exquisite craftsmanship makes it likely that the work was done on commission for an important setting.
Content Area West and Central Asia, Image 188
■Cross-Cultural Comparisons for Essay Question 1: Works Reflecting a Cultural Diversity
–Miguel González, Virgin of Guadalupe (Figure 18.4)
–Quick-to-See-Smith, Trade (Figure 29.12)
–Kngwarreye, Earth’s Creation (Figure 29.13)
Maqsud of Kashan, The Ardabil Carpet, 1539–1540, silk and wool, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Figures 9.7a and 9.7b)
Function
■Prayer carpet used at a pilgrimage site of a Sufi saint.
■Huge carpet, one of a matching pair, from the funerary mosque of Shayik Safial-Din; probably made when the shrine was enlarged. The companion carpet is in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Materials
■Wool carpet, woven by ten people, probably men; although women also did weaving in this period.
■The importance of the location and the size of the project indicate that men were entrusted with its execution.
Figure 9.7a: Maqsud of Kashan, The Ardabil Carpet, 1539–1540, silk and wool, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Figure 9.7b: Detail of 9.7a
Technique
■Wool pile of 5,300 knots per 10 cm. sq.; allows for great detail.
Content
■Medallion in center of carpet may represent the inside of a dome with 16 pendants.
■Mosque lamps hang from two of the pendants; because one lamp is smaller than the other, the larger lamp is placed farther away so that it appears the same size as the smaller; some suggest that this is a deliberate flaw to reflect that God alone is perfect.
■Corner squinches also have pendants completing the feeling of looking into a dome.
■Inscription: “Except for thy threshold, there is no refuge for me in all the world. Except for this door there is no resting-place for my head. The work of the slave of the portal, Masqud Kashani,” and the date, 946, in the Muslim calendar.
■The word “slave” in the inscription has been variously interpreted, but generally it is agreed that he was not a slave in the literal sense, but someone who was charged with executing the carpet.
Context
■World’s oldest dated carpet.
Content Area West and Central Asia, Image 191
Web Source https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/the-ardabil-carpet
■Cross-Cultural Comparisons for Essay Question 1: Textiles
–Hiapo (Figure 28.6)
–Bayeux Tapestry (Figures 11.7a, 11.7b)
–Ringgold, Dancing at the Louvre (Figure 29.11)
Persian Manuscripts
Persian painting descends from a rich and diverse heritage, including illustrated manuscripts from the western Islamic world and figural ceramics from pre-Mongol Iran. The Mongolian rulers who conquered Iran in 1258 introduced exotic Chinese painting to the Iranian court in the late Middle Ages. Persian manuscript paintings (sometimes called miniatures) gave a visual image to a literary plot, rendering a more enjoyable and easier-to-understand text. A number of diverse schools of manuscript painting were cultivated throughout Persia, some more, others less, under the spell of Chinese painting. Centuries after the Mongols, Chinese elements survive in the Asiatic appearance of figures, the incorporation of Chinese rocks and clouds, and the appearance of motifs such as dragons and chrysanthemums. Persian miniatures, in turn, influenced Mughal manuscripts in India.
Characteristics of many Persian manuscripts include a portrayal of figures in a relatively shadowless world, usually sumptuously dressed and occupying a richly decorative environment. Persian artists admire intricate details and multicolored geometric patterns. Space is divided into a series of flat planes. The marriage of text and calligraphy is especially stressed, as the words are often written with consummate precision in spaces reserved for them on the page.
The viewer’s point of view shifts in a world perceived at various angles—sometimes looking directly at some figures, while also looking down at the floor and carpets. Artists depict a lavishly ornamented architectural setting with crowded compositions of doll-like figures distinguishable by a brilliant color palette.
Bahram Gur Fights the Karg, folio from the Great Il-Khanid Shahnama, Islamic; Persian, c. 1330–1340, ink and opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on paper, Harvard University Art Gallery, Cambridge, Massachusetts (Figure 9.8)
Figure 9.8: Bahram Gur Fights the Karg, folio from the Great Il-Khanid Shahnama, Islamic; Persian, c. 1330–1340, ink and opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on paper, Harvard University Art Gallery, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Form
■Large painted surface area; calligraphy on the top and bottom frame the image.
■Areas of flat color.
■Spatial recession indicated by the overlapping planes.
■Atmospheric perspective seen in the light-bluish background.
Content
■Bahram Gur was an ancient Iranian king from the Sassanian dynasty.
■He represents the ideal king; wears a crown and a golden halo.
■Mongol artists of Persia sought to link themselves to great ancient Persian heroes shown as Mongol horsemen.
■A karg is a kind of unicorn or horned wolf he fought during his trip to India.
■Cross-cultural influences: Bahram Gur wears a garment of European fabric; Chinese landscape conventions can be seen in the background; these aspects connect the painting with trade along the Silk Road.
Context
■Because of its lavish production, it is assumed to have been commissioned by a high-ranking member of the Ilkhanid court and produced at the court scriptorium as a chronicle of great Persian kings.
■A high point of Persian manuscripts; very lavish.
■The original story by Firdawsi was written around 1010.
■Folio from the text called the Great Ilkhanid Shahnama, or the Book of Kings, a Persian epic.
■Originally one of 280 folios by several different artists; 57 pages survive.
Content Area West and Central Asia, Image 189
Web Source http://www.harvardartmuseums.org/art/169542
■Cross-Cultural Comparisons for Essay Question 1: Scenes of Conquering
–Athena from the Temple of Zeus (Figure 4.9)
–Narmer Palette (Figure 3.4)
–Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus (Figure 6.17)
Sultan Muhammad, The Court of Gayumars, from the Shah Tahmasp’s Shahnama, 1522–1525, ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper, Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, Canada (Figure 9.9)
Figure 9.9: Sultan Muhammad, The Court of Gayumars, from the Shah Tahmasp’s Shahnama, 1522–1525, ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper, Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, Canada
Form
■Large painted surface area; calligraphy diminished.
■Harmony between man and landscape.
■Minute details do not overwhelm the harmony of the scene.
■Very richly and decoratively painted with vibrant colors.
■Minute scale suggest the use of fine brushes, perhaps of squirrel hairs.
Content
■This excerpt shows the first king of Iran, Gayumars, enthroned before his community, ruling from a mountaintop.
■During his reign, men learned how to prepare food and prepare leopard skins as clothing; wild animals are shown as meek and submissive.
■On left, his son Siyamak; on right, his grandson Hushang.
■His court appears in a semicircle below him; court attire includes the wearing of leopard skins.
■The angel Surush tells Gayumars that his son will be murdered by the Black Div, son of the demon Ahriman; his death will be avenged by Hushang, who will rescue the Iranian throne.
Context
■Persian manuscript.
■The original story by Firdawsi was written around 1010.
■Folio from the text called the Great Ilkhanid Shahnama or the Book of Kings, a Persian epic.
■Produced for the Safavid ruler of Iran, Shah Tahmasp I, who saw himself as part of a proud tradition of Persian kings.
■Whole book contains 258 illustrated pages.
Content Area West and Central Asia, Image 190
Web Source https://agakhanmuseum.org/collection/artifact/court-of-kayumars-akm165
■Cross-Cultural Comparisons for Essay Question 1: Court Ruler
–Bichitr, Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings (Figure 23.9)
–Presentation of Fijian mats and tapa cloths to Queen Elizabeth II (Figure 28.10)
–Velázquez, Las Meninas (Figure 17.7)
ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
All mosques are oriented toward Mecca because Muslims must pray five times a day facing the holy city. The qiblah, or direction, to Mecca is marked by the mihrab (Figure 9.10), an empty niche, which directs the worshipper’s attention.
To remind the faithful of the times to pray, great minarets (Figure 9.16a) are constructed in every corner of the Muslim world, from which the call to prayer is recited to the faithful. Minarets are composed of a base, a tall shaft with an internal staircase, and a gallery from which muezzins call people to prayer. Galleries are often covered with canopies to protect the occupants from the weather.
Figure 9.10: A mihrab
Mosques come in many varieties. The most common designs are either the hypostyle halls like the Great Mosque at Córdoba (eighth–tenth centuries) (Figures 9.14a–9.14e) or the unified open interior as the Mosque of Selim II (1568–1575) (Figures 9.16a–9.16c). The focus of all prayer is the mihrab, which points the direction to Mecca.
The Mosque of Selim II has a unified central core with a brilliant dome surmounting a centrally organized ground plan. Works like this were inspired by Byzantine architecture. The domes of mosques and tombs employ squinches, which in Islamic hands can be made to form an elaborate orchestration of suspended facets called muqarnas.
In Iran mosques evolved around a centrally placed courtyard. Each side features a half-dome open at one end called an iwan. The Great Mosque in Isfahan, Iran (Figure 9.13) might be the first example of this architectural arrangement.
The Kaaba, Islamic and Pre-Islamic monument; rededicated by Muhammad in 631–632, multiple renovations; granite masonry, covered with silk curtain, and calligraphy in gold and silver-wrapped thread, Mecca, Saudi Arabia (Figures 9.11a and 9.11b)
Figure 9.11a: The Kaaba, Islamic and Pre-Islamic monument; rededicated by Muhammad in 631–632, multiple renovations; granite masonry, covered with silk curtain, and calligraphy in gold and silver-wrapped thread, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Figure 9.11b: Detail of 9.11a
Function
■Mecca is the spiritual center of Islam; this is the most sacred site in Islam.
■A large mosque surrounds the Kaaba.
■Destination for those making the hajj, or spiritual pilgrimage, to Mecca.
■Pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba counterclockwise seven times.
Materials
■The Kaaba is made of granite; the floor is made of marble and limestone.
■The Kaaba is covered by textiles; the cloth is called the Kiswa and is changed annually.
Context
■Kaaba means cube in Arabic; the Kaaba is cube-like in shape.
■Kaaba said to have been built by Ibrahim (Abraham, in the Western tradition) and Ishamel for God
■Existing structure encases the black stone in the eastern corner, the only part of the original structure by Ibrahim that survives.
■Has been repaired and reconstructed many times since Muhammad’s time.
Content Area West and Central Asia, Image 183
Web Source http://archnet.org/sites/3790
■Cross-Cultural Comparisons for Essay Question 1: Buildings Built on Important Sites
Figure 9.12a: Dome of the Rock, Islamic, Umayyad, 691–692, with multiple renovations, stone masonry and wood roof decorated with glazed ceramic tile, mosaics, and gilt aluminum and bronze dome, Jerusalem
–Dome of the Rock (Figures 9.12a, 9.12b)
–Lin, Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Figure 29.4a)
–Tutankhamun’s Tomb (Figure 3.11)
Dome of the Rock, Islamic, Umayyad, 691–692, with multiple renovations, stone masonry and wood roof decorated with glazed ceramic tile, mosaics, and gilt aluminum and bronze dome, Jerusalem (Figures 9.12a and 9.12b)
Form
■Domed wooden octagon.
■Influenced by centrally planned buildings (cf. Santa Costanza and the Pantheon, Figure 6.11c).
■Columns are spolia taken from Roman monuments.
Function
■Pilgrimage site for the faithful.
■Not a mosque; its original function has been debated.
Figure 9.12b: Interior of the Dome of the Rock
Context
■This building houses several sacred sites:
–The place where Adam was born.
–The site in which Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac.
–The place where Muhammad ascended to heaven (as described in the Qu’ran).
–The place where the Temple of Jerusalem was located.
■Meant to rival the Christian church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, although it was inspired by its domed rotunda.
■Arabic calligraphy on the mosaic decoration urges Muslims to embrace Allah as the one God and indicates that the Christian notion of the Trinity is an aspect of polytheism.
■Oldest surviving Qur’an verses; first use of Qur’an verses in architecture; one of the oldest Muslim buildings.
■Erected by Abd al-Malik, caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty.
Content Area West and Central Asia, Image 185
Web Source http://archnet.org/sites/2814
■Cross-Cultural Comparisons for Essay Question 1: Domes
–Taj Mahal (Figures 9.17a, 9.17b)
–Pantheon (Figures 6.11a, 6.11b)
–Hagia Sophia (Figures 8.3a, 8.3b)
Great Mosque (Masjid-e Jameh), Islamic: Persian: Seljuk, Il-Khanid, Timurid, and Safavid Dynasties, c. 700 additions and restorations in the 14th, 18th, and 20th centuries, stone, brick, wood, plaster, ceramic tile, Isfahan, Iran (Figures 9.13a, 9.13b, 9.13c, and 9.13d)
Form
■Large central rectangular courtyard surrounded by a two-story arcade.
■Typical of Muslim architecture is to have one large arch flanked by two stories of smaller arches (cf. the Taj Mahal, Fig. 9.17a).
■The qibla iwan is the largest and most decorative; its size indicates the direction to Mecca.
Figure 9.13a: Great Mosque (Masjid-e Jameh), Islamic: Persian: Seljuk, Il-Khanid, Timurid, and Safavid Dynasties, c. 700 additions and restorations in the 14th, 18th, and 20th centuries, stone, brick, wood, plaster, ceramic tile, Isfahan, Iran
Figure 9.13b: Detail of 9.13a
■Southern iwan is an entry for a private space used by the sultan and his retinue; its dome is adorned by decorative tiles; this contains the main mihrab of the mosque.
Figure 9.13c: Courtyard of 9.13a
Figure 9.13d: Mihrab (prayer room) of the Great Mosque (Masjid-e Jameh)
■Muqarnes: an ornamental and intricate vaulting placed on the underside of arches.
■Elaborately decorated mihrab on the interior points the direction to Mecca; the elaborateness reflects the fact that this is the holiest section of the shrine.
Function
■Muslim mosque.
■Each side of the courtyard, or sahn, has a centrally placed iwan; may be the first mosque to have this feature.
■Iwans have different roles, reflecting their size and ornamentation.
Context
■Iwan originally seen in palace architecture; used here for the first time to emphasize the sanctuary.
■This mosque is nestled in an urban center; many gates give access.
■The mosque’s outside walls share support with other buildings.
Content Area West and Central Asia, Image 186
Web Source http://archnet.org/sites/1621
■Cross-Cultural Comparisons for Essay Question 1: Houses of Worship
–Chartres Cathedral (Figures 12.4a, 12.4b, 12.4c)
–Great Stupa at Sanchi (Figures 23.4a, 23.4b)
–White Temple and its ziggurat (Figures 2.1a, 2.1b)
Great Mosque, Umayyad Dynasty, 785-786, 8th–10th centuries, stone masonry, Córdoba, Spain (Figures 9.14a, 9.14b, 9.14c, 9.14d, and 9.14e)
Form
■Double-arched columns, brilliantly articulated in alternating bands of color.
■Light and airy interior.
Figure 9.14a: Great Mosque, aerial view, Umayyad Dynasty, begun 785–786, stone masonry, Córdoba, Spain
Figure 9.14b: Flank view of Great Mosque, Córdoba, Spain
Figure 9.14c: Detail of façade of 9.14a
Figure 9.14d: Great Mosque, Umayyad Dynasty, 785-786, stone masonry, Córdoba, Spain
■Horseshoe-shaped arches derived from the Visigoths of Spain.
■Hypostyle mosque: no central focus, no congregational worship.
■Elaborately carved doorways signal principle entrances into the mosque and contrast with unadorned walls that otherwise flank the mosque.
Figure 9.14e: Ground plan for Great Mosque, Córdoba, Spain
Function
■Muslim mosque.
History
■The site was originally a Roman temple dedicated to Janus, then a Visigothic church, and then the mosque was built.
■Columns are spolia from ancient Roman structures.
■After a Christian reconquest, the center of the mosque was used for a church.
■Original wooden ceiling replaced by vaulting after Spanish reconquest.
Context
■Complex dome with elaborate squinches was built over the mihrab; it was inspired by Byzantine architecture.
■Horseshoe-shaped arches were inspired by Visigothic buildings in Spain.
■Relatively short columns made ceilings low; doubling of arches enhances interior space, perhaps influenced by the Roman aqueduct in Mérida, Spain.
■Kufic calligraphy on walls and vaults.
■Original patron: Abl al Rahman.
Content Area Early Europe and Colonial Americas, Image 56
Web Source http://www.mezquitadecordoba.org/en/history-mosque-cordoba.asp
■Cross-Cultural Comparisons for Essay Question 1: Architectural Plans
–Sullivan, Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building (Figure 21.14c)
–Chartres Cathedral (Figure 12.4c)
–Temple of Amun-Re (Figure 3.8c)
Alhambra, Nasrid Dynasty, 1354–1391, whitewashed adobe stucco, wood, tile, paint, and gilding, Granada, Spain (Figures 9.15a, 9.15b, 9.15c, and 9.15d)
Figure 9.15a: Alhambra, Nasrid Dynasty, 1354–1391, whitewashed adobe stucco, wood, tile, paint, and gilding, Granada, Spain
Form
■Light, airy interiors; fortress-like exterior.
■Contains palaces, gardens, water pools, fountains, courtyards.
■Small, low-bubbling fountains in each room contribute to cool temperatures in the summer.
■Inspired by the Charbagh gardens from Persia.
Function
■Palace of the Nasrid sultans of southern Spain.
■The Alcazaba (Arab for fortress) is the oldest section and is visible from the exterior.
■The Alcazaba is a double-walled fortress of solid and vaulted towers containing barracks, cisterns, baths, houses, storerooms, and a dungeon.
Context
■Built on a hill overlooking the city of Granada.
Content Area Early Europe and Colonial Americas, Image 65
Web Source http://archnet.org/sites/2547
Figure 9.15b: Court of the Lions (See page 216.)
Court of the Lions (Figure 9.15b)
Form
■Thin columns support heavy roofs; a feeling of weightlessness.
■Intricately patterned and sculpted ceilings and walls.
■Central fountain supported by 12 protective lions; animal imagery permitted in secular monuments.
■Parts of the walls are chiseled through to create vibrant light patterns within.
Context
■Built by Muhammad V between 1370 and 1391.
■Palaces follow the tradition of western Islamic palace design: rooms arranged symmetrically around rectangular courtyards.
■The courtyard is divided into four parts, each symbolizing one of the four parts of the world. Each part of the world is therefore irrigated by a water channel that symbolizes the four rivers of Paradise.
■The courtyard is an architectural symbol of Paradise combining its gardens, water, and columns in a unified expression.
Content Area Early Europe and Colonial Americas, Image 65
Figure 9.15c: Hall of the Sisters, Alhambra, Spain
Hall of the Sisters (Figure 9.15c)
Form
■Sixteen small windows are placed at the top of hall; light dissolves into a honeycomb of stalactites hanging from the ceiling.
■Five thousand muqarnas, carved in stucco onto the ceiling, refract light.
■Abstract patterns, abstraction of forms.
■Highly sophisticated and refined interior.
Context
■Perhaps used as a music room or for receptions.
■The hall is so named because of two big twin marble flagstones placed on the floor. In between these flagstones is a small fountain and a short canal from which water flows to the Court of the Lions (Figure 9.15b).
Figure 9.15d: Plan of the Alhambra, Granada, Spain
■The hall was built by order of Mohammed V.
Content Area Early Europe and Colonial Americas, Image 65
■Cross-Cultural Comparisons for Essay Question 1: Interiors
–House of the Vettii (Figure 6.13)
–Wright, Fallingwater (Figure 22.16b)
–Hall of Mirrors, Versailles (Figure 17.3d)
Figure 9.16a: Sinan, Mosque of Selim II, 1568–1575, brick and stone, Edirne, Turkey
Sinan, Mosque of Selim II, 1568–1575, brick and stone, Edirne, Turkey (Figures 9.16a, 9.16b, and 9.16c)
Form
■Extremely thin soaring minarets.
■Abundant window space makes for a brilliantly lit interior.
■Octagonal interior, with eight pillars resting on a square set of piers.
■Squinches decorated with muqarnas transition the round dome to the huge piers below.
■Smaller half-domes in the corners support the main dome and transition the space to a square ground plan.
■Decorative display of Iznik mosaic and tile work.
Function
■Mosque part of a complex, including a hospital, school, and library.
Context
■Inspired by Hagia Sophia (Figure 8.3a), but a centrally planned building.
Figure 9.16b: Sinan, Mosque of Selim II, interior
Figure 9.16c: Ground plan of Sinan, Mosque of Selim II
■Open airy interior contrasts with conventional mosques that have partitioned interiors.
■Sinan was chief court architect for the Ottoman emperor Suleyman the Magnificent (r. 1520–1566).
Content Area Early Europe and Colonial Americas, Image 84
Web Source http://www.3dmekanlar.com/en/selimiye-mosque-2.html
■Cross-Cultural Comparisons for Essay Question 1: Domes
–Pantheon (Figures 6.11a, 6.11b)
–Dome of the Rock (Figures 9.12a, 9.12b)
–Hagia Sophia (Figures 8.3a, 8.3b, 8.3c)
Content Area: South, East, and Southeast Asia, 300 B.C.E.–1980 C.E.
Taj Mahal, c. 1632–1653, stone masonry and marble with inlay of precious and semi-precious stones, gardens, Agra, India (Figures 9.17a and 9.17b)
Figure 9.17a: Taj Mahal, c. 1632–1653, stone masonry and marble with inlay of precious and semi precious stones; gardens, Agra, India
Figure 9.17b: Interior of Taj Mahal, Agra, India
Masons, marble workers, mosaicists, and decorators working under the supervision of Ustad Ahmad Lahori, architect of the emperor.
Form
■Symmetrical harmony of design.
■Typical Islamic feature of one large central arch flanked by two smaller arches.
■Square plan with chamfered corners.
■Onion-shaped dome rises gracefully from the façade.
■Small kiosks around dome lessen severity.
■Intricate floral and geometric inlays of colored stone.
■Minarets act like a picture frame, directing the eye of the viewer and sheltering the monument.
■Texts from the Qu’ran cover surface.
■Motifs of flowering plants, carved into the walls of the structure, may have been inspired by engravings in European herbals.
Function
■Built as the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal, Shah Jahan’s wife; the shah was interred next to her after his death.
Context
■Translated to mean “crown palace.”
■Named for Mumtaz Mahal, deceased wife of Shah Jahan, who died while giving birth to her 14th child.
■Part of a larger ensemble of buildings.
■Grounds represent a vast funerary garden, the gardens found in heaven in the Islamic tradition.
■Taj Mahal reflected in the Charbagh garden (that is, a garden that is rectangular and based on the four gardens of Paradise mentioned in the Qu’ran).
■Different from other Mongol buildings in its extensive use of white marble, which was generally reserved for interior spaces; white marble contrasts with the red sandstone of the flanking buildings.
■Influence of Hindi texts in which white is seen as a symbol of purity for priests and red for warriors; the Taj Mahal is white marble but the surrounding buildings are red sandstone.
Theory
■May have been built to salute the grandeur of the Shah Jahan and his royal kingdom, as much as to honor his wife’s memory.
■Alternate theory suggests that this is a symbolic representation of a Divine Throne on the Day of Judgment.
Content Area South, East, and Southeast Asia, Image 209
Web Source http://www.history.com/topics/taj-mahal
■Cross-Cultural Comparisons for Essay Question 1: Gardens
–Versailles (Figure 17.3e)
–Kusama, Narcissus Garden (Figures 22.25a, 22.25b)
–Ryoan-ji (Figures 25.2a, 25.2b, 25.2c)
VOCABULARY
Arabesque: a flowing, intricate, and symmetrical pattern deriving from floral motifs (Figure 9.1)
Calligraphy: decorative or beautiful handwriting (Figure 9.2)
Charbagh: a rectangular garden in the Persian tradition that is based on the four gardens of Paradise mentioned in the Qur’an
Hajj: an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca that is required of devout Muslims as one of the five pillars of Islam
Hypostyle: a hall that has a roof supported by a dense thicket of columns (Figure 9.14d)
Illuminated manuscript: a manuscript that is hand-decorated with painted initials, marginal illustrations, and larger images that add a pictorial element to the written text (Figure 9.8)
Iwan: a rectangular vaulted space in a Muslim building that is walled on three sides and open on the fourth (Figure 9.13a)
Jali: perforated ornamental stone screens in Islamic art
Kufic: a highly ornamental Islamic script (Figure 9.5)
Madrasa: a Muslim school or university often attached to a mosque
Mausoleum: a building, usually large, that contains tombs (Figure 9.17a)
Mecca, Medina: Islamic holy cities; Mecca is the birthplace of Muhammad and the city all Muslims turn to in prayer; Medina is where Muhammad was first accepted as the Prophet, and where his tomb is located
Mihrab: a central niche in a mosque, which indicates the direction to Mecca (Figure 9.10)
Minaret: a tall, slender column used to call people to prayer (Figure 9.13a)
Minbar: a pulpit from which sermons are given
Mosque: a Muslim house of worship (Figure 9.14a)
Muezzin: an Islamic official who calls people to prayer traditionally from a minaret
Muhammad (570?–632): The Prophet whose revelations and teachings form the foundation of Islam
Muqarna: a honeycomb-like decoration often applied in Islamic buildings to domes, niches, capitals, or vaults. The surface resembles intricate stalactites (Figure 9.15c)
Pyxis (pronounced “pick-sis”): a small cylinder-shaped container with a detachable lid used to contain cosmetics or jewelry (Figure 9.4)
Qibla: the direction toward Mecca which Muslims face in prayer
Qur’an: the Islamic sacred text, dictated to the Prophet Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel
Sahn: a courtyard in Islamic architecture (Figure 9.13c)
Shahnama, or The Book of Kings: a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Firdawsi between c. 977 and 1010 c.e.; the national epic of Iran (Figure 9.9)
Squinch: the polygonal base of a dome that makes a transition from the round dome to a flat wall (Figure 9.16b)
Tessellation: decoration using polygonal shapes with no gaps (Figure 9.3)
Voussoirs (pronounced “vōō-swar”): a wedge-shaped stone that forms the curved part of an arch; the central voussoir is called a keystone (Figure 9.14d)
SUMMARY
Although not specifically banned by the Qur’an, a traditional prohibition against figural art dominates much of the Islamic movement. This did not prove to be an impediment for Muslim artists, who formed an endless creative expression of abstract designs based on calligraphy, arabesques, and tessellations. Figural art occurs mostly in Persian manuscripts that depict lavishly costumed courtiers recreating famous stories from Arabic literature.
Islamic architecture borrows freely from Byzantine, Sassanian, and Early Christian sources. Mosques all have niches, called mihrabs, which direct the worshipper’s attention to Mecca. Religious symbolism dominates mosques, but is also richly represented in secular buildings such as tombs or palaces.
PRACTICE EXERCISES
Multiple-Choice
Questions 1–3 refer to this picture of a basin.
1.The decoration on the basin called the Baptistère de Saint Louis is noted for its use of
(A)mixed media
(B)contrapposto
(C)horror vacui
(D)encaustic
2.The original function of the basin called the Baptistère de Saint Louis was probably for
(A)the baptisms of infants in the royal household
(B)coronation rituals of royalty
(C)retelling mythological stories of the ancient past
(D)washing hands during official ceremonies
3.The importance of the item is alluded to in the
(A)rich material used to create it
(B)depiction of royal family members and their entourage
(C)use of lions and peacocks as royal symbols
(D)purple color which symbolized royalty
4.How has the Great Mosque at Córdoba been altered by Christians after the reconquest of Spain?
(A)The interior arches were taken down to make a vast unified space.
(B)The mihrab was destroyed and an altar was placed in its stead.
(C)The interior was reroofed using European vaulting techniques.
(D)The building was turned into a church and then back into a mosque again.
5.The Kufic script used in Islamic calligraphy is read in the same direction as which of the following works?
(A)The Golden Haggadah
(B)The Book of Lindisfarne
(C)The Vienna Genesis
(D)The Bayeux Tapestry
Long Essay
Practice Question 2: Visual and Contextual Analysis
Suggested Time: 25 minutes
In Islamic and Indian art, artists often use a combination of abstract, calligraphic, and/or figural design to recount stories from the past.
Select and completely identify an Islamic or Indian work of art that combines abstract, calligraphic, and/or figural art. You may choose one from the suggested list below or any other relevant work.
Explain how the artist used a combination of designs to recount stories in Islamic and Indian manuscripts.
In your answer, make sure to:
■Accurately identify the work you have chosen with at least two identifiers beyond those given.
■Respond to the question with an art historically defensible thesis statement.
■Support your claim with at least two examples of visual and/or contextual evidence.
■Explain how the evidence that you have supplied supports your thesis.
■Use your evidence to corroborate or modify your thesis.
Court of Gaymars
Bahram Gur Fights the Karg
Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings
ANSWER KEY
1.C
2.D
3.A
4.C
5.A
ANSWERS EXPLAINED
Multiple-Choice
1.(C) All of the surfaces on the basin are covered with decoration. The definition of horror vacui (Latin for “fear of empty spaces”) suggests that artists intentionally filled the whole surface with patterns, as is the case with this basin.
2.(D) Originally this basin functioned as a bowl probably for washing hands during ceremonies. It was later brought into the French royal court and used for baptisms.
3.(A) The basin is made of brass, inlaid with gold and silver—rich items indicating court patronage.
4.(C) After Spain was reconquered from the Moors in 1492, this building had its original wooden ceiling removed, and European-style vaulting was installed.
5.(A) Kufic script is read right to left, the way Hebrew is. The Golden Haggadah is written in Hebrew.
Long Essay Rubric
Task |
Point Value |
Key Points in a Good Response |
Accurately identify the work you have chosen with at least two identifiers beyond those given. |
1 |
Gayumars: Sultan Muhammad, Shah Tahmasp’s Shahnama, 1522–1525, ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper Bahram Gur: Great Il-Khanid Shahnama c. 1330–1340, ink and opaque watercolor, gold and silver on paper Jahangir: Bichitr, c. 1620, watercolor, gold, and ink on paper |
Respond to the question with an art historically defensible thesis statement. |
1 |
The thesis statement must be an art historically sound claim that responds to the question and does not merely restate it. The thesis statement should come at the beginning of the argument and be at least one, preferably two sentences. For example: The Court of Gayumars shows the combination of multiple decorative elements to recount the ancient Persian story of a king enthroned before his community. The figural designs visually tell the story of Gayumars; this is complemented by the calligraphy above and below the main illustration and the abstract designs that fill the otherwise empty sections of the page. |
|
Support your claim with at least two examples of visual and/or contextual evidence. |
2 |
Two visual or contextual examples are needed here. For these examples, part of the evidence could involve a discussion of the stories being told, and how they are illustrated by the artist, and/or the direct relationship of the text to the image. |
|
Explain how the evidence that you have supplied supports your thesis. |
1 |
Good responses link the evidence you have provided with the main thesis statement. In these examples, one could discuss how the combination of figural, abstract, and calligraphic decoration represents a union of the visual arts that is typical of Islamic and Indian art. |
|
Use your evidence to corroborate or modify your thesis. |
1 |
This point is earned when a student demonstrates a depth of understanding, in this case of manuscripts from this part of the world. The student must demonstrate multiple insights on a given subject. For example, the student could discuss how calligraphy was the highest art form in Islam; in hand-painted manuscripts of the Qu’ran the words are elegantly painted—there are no illustrations. Some Muslims prefer no illustrations of any type in their artwork, which sets apart Persian and Indian works. |