Review: Art of Islam
Approximate Dates: 650 CE – the present
Name of Previous Era: Byzantine Art
Characteristics:
 No animal/human forms
 Calligraphy & Arabic Writing
 Mosques
 Mausoleums
 Madrasas
 Horseshoe shaped arches
 “textile-like”mosaics
 Marble and lusterware tilework
 Arabesque covering
Religion:
 Muhammad, founder of Islamic religion
 Caliphs
 Imams
 Sultans
 5 pillars of faith: profess faith in Allah, pray 5X daily, pilgrimage to Mecca, alms to the poor, fast during Ramadan
 Muhammad is final and greatest prophet
Themes & topics:
 Economics, Wars, Social Structure:
 Swift spread of Islam across Middle East, North Africa, Spain, (defeated in France & pushed back into Spain),
India, Pakistan, Indonesia
 Caliphs built huge palaces
 War among caliphs
 Abbasid massacre, Abd-al-Rahman escapes to Spain & built rival capital at Cordoba
 Crusades (Christian soldiers attempting to win back the Holy Land of Jerusalem)
What caused the changes in the arts?
 Islamic faith
 No figural images
 Need for space for communal worship & good works (hospitals, orphanages, kitchens for poor)
 Madrasas used for education
Major Works of Art:
Dome of the Rock
Umayyad Palace (plan), Mshatta
Mausoleum of the Samanids
Mosque of Selim II
Mihrab from Madrasa Imami
Great Mosque Kairouan, Tunisia
Great Mosque at Cordoba
Great Mosque of Damascus
Malwiya Minaret
Madrasa-Mosque-Mausoleum
Architectural Style/new contributions:
 Minaret
 Qibla
 Horsearch
 Madrasa
 Stucco reliefs
 Ribbed vaulting in dome
 Mihrab