ISLAMIC ART AND CULTURE

CULTURE

• Muslims developed a very original culture as a result of mixing oriental and classical elements from the conquered people with their own culture: the religion and the Arabic language.

ORIENTAL CULTURE

CLASSICAL CULTURE

ARABIC CULTURE

Chinese – Indian - Persian Greek - Roman

ISLAMIC CULTURE

CULTURE

• The Muslim expansion brought oriental inventions to the West:

–Paper.

–Gunpowder.

– The compass.

– The astrolabe.

CULTURE

• Muslims translated Latin and Greek texts to Arabic (Archimedes, Euclid, Aristotle…)

• They also contributed to important advances of their own science: – Algebra (Al Khwarizmi).

– Medicine (Ibn Sina or Avicena).

– Chemistry.

– Philosophy.

– History.

– Literature (The Thousand and One Nights).

ISLAMIC ART: ARCHITECTURE

• It was the most important form of artistic expression. Main characteristics:

1. Basic materials (wood, brick) were covered with other materials (tiles, plaster) to give the impression of greater richness.

2. There was a lot of decoration.

3. They used a variety of elements in architecture.

Elements of Islamic architecture: ROOFS

Different kinds of VAULT and DOME:

MUQARNA VAULT: Decorated in the form of stalactites or honeycomb.

CALIPHAL VAULT: composed of intersected ribs* that don’t pass through the centre.

SEGMENTED DOME: Divided into sections, similar to the sections of an orange.

* Rib: nervio.

MUQARNA VAULT (SHAH’S MOSQUE, 17TH CENTURY)

CALIPHAL VAULT (CORDOBA’S MOSQUE, 8-10TH CENTURIES)

SEGMENTED DOME (DOME OF THE ROCK, 7TH CENTURY)

Dome – Mosque of Selim (Edirne, Turkey)

Elements of Islamic architecture: ARCHES

They used many types of arch:

SEMICIRCULAR ARCH

STILTED SEMICIRCULAR ARCH: a semicircular arch slightly leghtened at the bottom.

POLYLOBED ARCH: made of small semicircles.

HORSESHOE ARCH

SEMICIRCULAR ARCH

STILTED SEMICIRCULAR ARCH – LA ALHAMBRA

POLYLOBED ARCH CORDOBA’S MOSQUE

HORSESHOE ARCH – MUDEJAR STYLE

Elements of Islamic architecture: DECORATION

Mainly to cover the interior of buildings:

EPIGRAPHY: texts from the Koran, poems, etc. (in Arabic).

ARABESQUE*: floral and plants designs.

TRACERY**: geometrical patterns and shapes. Usually made with ceramic tiles.

* Arabesque: Arabesco, ataurique. ** Tracery: also known as “interlacing design”

EPIGRAPHY

ARABESQUE

TRACERY WITH CERAMIC TILES

THE MOSQUE

• Buildings where muslims meet to pray.

• The mosque has to face towards Mecca.

• Mosques consisted of various parts: – Minaret.

– Courtyard (sahn).

– Prayer room (haram).

– Qibla.

– Mihrab.

– Macsura.

Mosque - Parts

Mosque of Quba – Medina (Saudi Arabia)

Shah Mosque – Isfahan (Persia=Iran)

Shah Mosque – Interior

Mosque of Cordoba – (Spain)

Mosque of Hagia Sophia – Istambul (Turkey)

Mosque of Kairouan – Tunisia (670)

OTHER ISLAMIC

BUILDINGS

DOME OF THE ROCK

Side view and interior

TAJ-MAHAL Agra (India)

Humayyun’s Tomb - Delhi (India)

THE END

By Daniel Quijano Ramos

Geography & History teacher

IES Puerta de la Axarquía