Islamic Art
An Introduction to Islamic Art
Art is the mirror of a culture and its world view. There is no case to which this statement more directly applies than to the art of the Islamic world. Not only does its art reflect its cultural values, but even more importantly, the way in which its advocates, the Muslims, view the spiritual realm, the universe, life, and the relationship of the parts to the whole.
For the Muslim, reality begins with and centers around God ("Allah"), the One, the Unique, the Sovereign, the Holy, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the Loving, the Most Merciful. All existence is subject to His will and His laws. He is the center of conscious Muslims' worship and aspirations, the focus of their lives.
With such a belief system, the Muslim is convinced of the balance and harmony of all things in existence, even when there appear to be confusing contradictions and imbalances, regarding these as the reflection of man's limited understanding and knowledge. Because of the strict injunctions against such depictions of humans or animals which might result in idol-worship, Islamic art developed a unique character, utilizing a number of primary forms: geometric, arabesque, floral, and calligraphic, which are often interwoven. From early times, Muslim art has reflected this balanced, harmonious world-view.
These traditions persist today, and Islamic architecture and decorative arts are still very much alive and valued in many parts of the Muslim world. While Western-style art forms and machine work have to an extent eroded the traditional forms, nonetheless, its an important aspect of the decoration of mosques and Muslim homes. In particular, decoration featuring Quranic calligraphy is an important aspect of Islamic art.
Due to its peculiar character, the Arabic script lends itself wonderfully to decorative use. Over the centuries, many different scripts have evolved in various regions of the Muslim world.
Arabic is read from right to left, with an alphabet of twenty-six letters, of which three are long vowels. Short vowels are indicated by small symbols above or under the letters themselves.
The Ageless Legacy of Arabic Calligraphy
Arabic is the language of Islam. It is the language of its prophet, Muhammad; the language in which the Holy Qur'an, Islam's sacred scripture, was revealed to him by God; the language of Muslims' worship; and the language which binds Muslims of all times and places together in a single cohesive brotherhood.
Because of Muslims' profound respect and love for the Qur'an, the art of calligraphy was developed among them from early times to a very high degree. Throughout the Muslim world, Qur'anic verses beautify mosques, palaces and homes, businesses, and, in some places, public areas. Often the calligraphy is done in conjunction with decorative motifs, lovingly decorated what is most sacred and precious.
"God is Beautiful and Loves Beauty"
So said the Prophet of Islam some 1400 years ago. He also said, "God likes that when you do anything, you do it excellently." Such prophetic sayings (hadiths) 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 ornamentation rather than on art for art's sake; while the names of the producers of the finest works of Islamic art may not have survived, their works have become prototypes and models on which other artists and craftsmen patterned their works, or from which they derived the impetus for related work.
THE DIVINE WORD
The Holy Quran says that when Allah swt wishes something, He has only to say, “BE!” and it is (Kun Fa Ya Kun). This formula precisely reveals the tremendous creative power of divine language, of the Word, in the Islamic tradition. The miracle of the Prophet Muhammad saw was the holy book called the Quran, or the recitation, the first revealed word of which , “Iqra!” commands, “Read!” or “Recite”.
Recite in the name of you Lord who created
Created the Human for a clot
Recite and your Lord is most generous
It is He who taught by the pen
Taught the human what he knew not (Surah Al-Alaq 96: 1-5)
From this verse we understand the importance from the earliest Islamic Period of both the reciter and the scribe. It manifest the glory of revelation.
Islamic calligraphy, equally known as Arabic calligraphy, is the art of writing, and by extension, of bookmaking. This art has most often employed the Arabic script, throughout many languages. Calligraphy is especially revered among Islamic arts since it was the primary means for the preservation of the Qur'an.
Throughout Islamic history, the work of calligraphers was collected and appreciated. Consideration of figurative art as idolatrous led to calligraphy and abstract figures becoming the main forms of artistic expression in Islamic cultures.
Arabic, Persian and Ottoman Turkish calligraphy is associated with geometric Islamic art (the Arabesque) on the walls and ceilings of mosques as well as on the page of Quran. Contemporary artists in the Islamic world draw on the heritage of calligraphy to use calligraphic inscriptions or abstractions in their work.
Types Calligraphic scripts
1. Kufic Script : The first Arabic script to gain popularity was the Kufic script, which was created in year 537. Kufic is angular, made of square and short horizontal strokes, long verticals, and bold, compact circles. It was the main script used to copy the Qur'an for three centuries. It developed many serifs (small decorations added to each character). This script was named after the city of Kufa in Iraq, where it is said to have been invented and it is claimed that the fourth Caliph of Islam (the Prophet's cousin), was the first to write in Kufic script.
Kufic Script
2. Nasakh Script : More often used for casual writing was the cursive Naskh script, with rounder letters and thin lines. As techniques for writing in this style were refined, it came to be preferred to Kufic for copying the Qur'an. Naskh is the first script taught to most children. Almost all printed material in Arabic is in Naskh so, to avoid confusion, children are taught to write in the same script. It is also clearer and easier to decipher. In Seljuk Iran, naskh was used for ordinary correspondence and the production of literary works. It has a regular and balanced appearance. Ibn Muqla (died 939), a native of Shiraz and a minister of the Abbasid caliph of Baghdad was the key calligrapher responsible for its development.
Nasakh Script
3. Thuluth script : In the 13th century, the Thuluth script took on the ornamental role formerly associated with the Kufic script. Thuluth means "one third"; the form of Thuluth is based on the principle that one third of each letter slides downward. Thus it has a strong cursive aspect and is usually written in ample curves. Thuluth made its first appearance in the fourth century of the Hijrah (11th century CE). The straight angular forms of Kufic were replaced in the new script by curved and oblique lines. Various calligraphic styles evolved from Thuluth through slight changes of form. The greatest contributions to the evolution of the Thuluth script, occurred during Ottoman Empire in three successive steps that Ottoman Art Historians call "Calligraphical Revolutions":
Thuluth Script
4. Nastaliq Script : After Persia was conquered by Arabs in the 7th century, it became common to write Persian in Arabic script. The Persians contributed the Ta'liq and Nasta'liq styles to Arabic calligraphy. Nasta'liq is extremely cursive, with exaggeratedly long horizontal strokes. One of its peculiarities is that vertical strokes lean to the right rather than (as more commonly) to the left, making Nasta'liq writing flow particularly well. It was developed in Iran in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Nastaliq Script
4. Diwani Script : Diwani script is a cursive style of Arabic calligraphy developed during the reign of the early Ottoman Turks (16th and early 17th centuries). It was invented by Housam Roumi and reached its height of popularity under Süleyman I the Magnificent (1520–66). As decorative as it was communicative, Diwani was distinguished by the complexity of the line within the letter and the close juxtaposition of the letters within the word.
Diwani Script
5. Riq’a Script : Is the most common script for everyday use is Ruq’ah also known as Riq'a). Simple and easy to write, its movements are small, without much width. It is the one most commonly seen. It is considered a step up from Naskh script, which children are taught first. In later grades they are introduced to Ruq'ah.
Riq’a Script
No comments:
Post a Comment