Islamic ArtIslam is a monotheistic religion originating with the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure.

The word Islam means "submission", or the total surrender of oneself to God. A worshipper of Islam is a Muslim= "one who submits (to God)".

There are about 1.6 billion Muslims in the world today.

Islamic ArtMuslims believe that God revealed the Qur'an to Muhammad, God's final prophet, and regard the Qur'an and the Sunnah (words and deeds of Muhammad) as the fundamental sources of Islam. Muhammad is not the founder of a new religion, but seen as the restorer of the original monotheistic faith of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets.

Islamic ArtWords to know:

Arabesque

Dome of the Rock

Great Mosque of Cordoba

Calligraphy

Kufic Script

Mihrab

Minaret

Mosque

Reliquary

Qibla Wall

hypostyle

Calligraphy is the most esteemed,

highest form, of art in Islam

Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created-

Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood:

Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,-Who taught (the use of) the pen,-

Taught man that which he knew not.

—Quran, sura 96 (Al-Alaq), ayat 1-5[10]

Much of Islamic art portrays abstract patterns and flowers.

The Quran, the holy book of Islam, includes verses forbidding the worship of idols. Many Muslims

interpret this as prohibition against displays of the human figure.

Islamic artists then look to nonhuman subjects for their works, such as calligraphy, abstract designs and

flowers.

13-16, Koran page calligraphy, 10 c.

Vocation, Close to Godblack ink, red vowelsvellumTitle in gold with palm tree finnialOldest extant Quran

Surah 18= The CavePraise be to Allah, Who hath sent to His Servant

the Book

Islamic ArtThe Islamic Faith is based on the ‘Five Pillars’ of Islam:Shahādah - Profession of faithSalah – Prayer 5 times a dayZakâh - Giving to the poorSawm - Fasting during RamadanHajj - Pilgrimage to MeccaAlthough Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet, they reject the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, comparing it to polytheism. In Islamic theology, Jesus was just a man and not the son of God; God is described in a chapter of the Quar'an as "…God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him."

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13-1The Dome of the RockThe Dome of the Rock is an Islamic shrine (or reliquary) and a major landmark located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It was completed in 691, making it the oldest extant Islamic building in the world.Muslims believe that Mohammed ascended to Heaven from the rock inside of this Dome. The building is only open to Muslims.Jews believe that it was on this rock that Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac, and this stone may have once stood in Solomon's Temple. Muslim tradition also has it that it an angel will appear here with a trumpet call to announce the Last Judgment at end of the world.

13-1Dome of the Rock shows the magnificent tile work done by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1545. The Arabic inscription is of verses from the Qur'an.

CALLIGRAPHY=Highest form of art,Vocation to Allah

IMPORTANT NOTE!!In the Islamic religion, it is forbidden to worship other Gods… Islamic art takes this rule VERY seriously by forbidding images of animals or people (which could represent Gods) in their sacred buildings. For this reason, art of Islamic Holy places lacks figural representations.

*Instead, Islamic artists created elaborate abstract designs.

Columns, arches and ambulatory inside the Dome.

Arabesque designs

Textiles

Figure 13-7 Aerial view of the Great Mosque, Kairouan, Tunisia, ca. 836–875.

13- 7 MOSQUE= Principal place of worship for MuslimsKairouan= Pilgrimage destination Northern AfricansRectangular plan, 125m longAustere buttressed wallsOne grand minaret, 115’Nine gates17 aisles, 414 columnsColumns reuse Roman/ByzantineMinbar oldest in Islam

13-7

Minbar

Textiles, Prayer Rug

13-25 MihrabA mihrab is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla-- the direction of Mecca, the direction that Muslims face when praying. The wall with mihrab= the "qibla wall."

Mihrabs are usually ornately decorated and often designed to give the impression of an arched doorway or a passage to Mecca.

Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad are written in kufic script on the borders of the pointed arch of the niche.

Mihrab (prayer niche)Glazed ceramic tile15th-16th CenturyISLAMIC ART

Cincinnati Art Museum

ArabesquesThe arabesque is an elaborative application of repeating geometric forms that often echo the forms of plants and animals. Arabesques are an element of Islamic art usually found decorating the walls of mosques.

13-20 SinanMosque of Selim IIEdirne, Turkey, 1575Ottoman EmpireDome, central planDome-square-octoMany windowsTall, thin, minaretsMultiple domed units

13-21Commissioned by Selim IIOttoman architect= SinanCentral planBrilliantly lit interiorInspired by Hagia SophiaHuge dome with 4 tall minarets

Great Mosque of Cordoba (Spain)Once one of the biggest mosques in the World, it’s now a Catholic Cathedral since the Spanish

Inquisition.

Córdoba was capital of the Spanish Muslims (756-1031). The Great Mosque of Córdoba (La Mezquita) was founded 785 CE.

It was added to and expanded over the next two hundred years to make it the third largest structure in the Islamic world.

The prayer hall (23,400 square meters) is filled with almost 500 hundred slender columns and superimposed striped arches; a forest sprouting from the marble floor.

Previously the site had been occupied by a Christian church Before that, Córdoba was a provincial capital in the Roman Empire.

Great Mosque of Cordoba (Spain) – 900-1,000 CE

Double horseshoe archesbands of colorLight, airy interiorHypostyle mosque

The Alhambra, 14c Moors in Spain

The Taj Mahal, Agra, India, 1653. ISLAMIC ART

Writings from the Qur’an in Thuluth Script

Burial tombs for Shah Jahan & Mumtaz Mahal