An element of Islamic art usually found decorating the walls of mosques, the arabesque is an elaborative application of repeating geometric forms that often echo the forms of plants and animals. The choice of which geometric forms are to be
used and how they are to be formatted is based upon the Islamic view of the world. To
Muslims, these forms, taken together, constitute an infinite pattern that extends beyond the
visible material world. To many in the Islamic world, they in fact symbolize the infinite, and therefore uncentralized, nature of
the creation of the one God (Allah). Furthermore, the Islamic Arabesque artist conveys a definite
spirituality without the iconography of Christian
art.
History
Geometric artwork in the form of the arabesque was not widely used in the Islamic world until the golden age of Islam came into full bloom. During this time, ancient texts were translated from their
original Greek and Latin into Arabic at the House of Wisdom an academic research institution
in Baghdad. Like the following Renaissance in Europe,
mathematics, science, literature and history were infused into the Islamic world with great, mostly positive repercussions. The
works of Plato and especially of Euclid became popular among the
literate. In fact, it was Euclid's geometry along with the foundations of trigonometry codified by Pythagoras that were expounded on by
Al-Jawhari (ca.800-860), whose Commentary on Euclid's Elements
became the impetus of the art form that was to become the Arabesque. Furthermore, Plato's ideas about the existence of a separate
reality that was perfect in form and function and crystalline in character also would contribute to the development of the
Arabesque.
Description and symbolism
Arabesque art consists of a series of repeating geometric forms which are occasionally accompanied by calligraphy. Ettinghausen et al. describe the arabesque as a "vegetal design consisting of full...and half
palmettes [as] an unending continuous pattern...in which each leaf grows out of the tip of
another."[1] To the adherents of Islam, the Arabesque are symbolic of their united faith and the way in which traditional Islamic cultures
view the world.
Two modes
There are two modes to arabesque art. The first recalls the principles that govern the order of the world. These principles
include the bare basics of what makes objects structurally sound and, by extension, beautiful (i.e. the angle and the
fixed/static shapes that it creates -- esp. the truss). In the first mode, each repeating
geometric form has a built-in symbolism ascribed to it. For example, the square, with its four equilateral sides, is symbolic of the equally important elements of nature: earth, air, fire and water. Without any one of the four, the physical world, represented by a circle that
inscribes the square, would collapse upon itself and cease to exist. The second mode is based upon the flowing nature of
plant forms. This mode recalls the feminine nature of life giving.
In addition, upon inspection of the many examples of Arabesque art, some would argue that there is in fact a third mode, the mode
of Arabic calligraphy.
Calligraphy
An example of Arabic calligraphy
Instead of recalling something related to the 'True Reality' (the reality of the spiritual world), for the Muslim
calligraphy is a visible expression of the highest art of all; the art of the spoken word
(the transmittal of thoughts and of history). In Islam, the most important document to be transmitted orally is, of course, the
Qur'an. Proverbs and complete passages from the Qur'an can be
seen today in Arabesque art. The coming together of these three forms creates the Arabesque, and this is a reflection of unity
arising from diversity (a basic tenet of Islam).
Role
The arabesque can also be equally thought of as both art and science, some say. The artwork is at the same time mathematically precise,
aesthetically pleasing, and symbolic. So due to this duality of creation, they say, the artistic part of this equation can be
further subdivided into both secular and religious artwork. However, for many Muslims there is no distinction; all forms of art, the natural world,
mathematics and science are all creations of God and therefore are reflections of the same thing (God's will expressed through
His Creation). In other words, man can discover the geometric forms that constitute the Arabesque, but these forms always existed
before as part of God's creation, as shown in this picture.
Order and unity
There is great similarity between arabesque artwork from very different geographic regions. In fact, the similarities are so
pronounced, that it is sometimes difficult for experts to tell where a given style of arabesque comes from. The reason for this
is that the science and mathematics that are used to construct Arabesque artwork are universal.
Therefore, for most Muslims, the best artwork that can be created by man for use in the Mosque
is artwork that displays the underlying order and unity of nature. The order and unity of the material world, they believe, is a
mere ghostly approximation of the spiritual world
(which for many Muslims is the place where the only true reality exists). Discovered geometric forms, therefore, exemplify this
perfect reality because God's creation has been obscured by the sins of man.
In fact, Sufi Muslims believe that there is no distinction between the spiritual and material
worlds. They also believe that the reason we cannot experience the spiritual world is that there are 'veils of concealment' that
shield us from the perfection of the spiritual world. They therefore work to lift these veils, in order to become one with God
while they are still on Earth. One of the ways that Sufi Muslims try to do this is to use the arabesque in depictions of the
world.
References:
- ^ Richard Ettinghausen, Oleg Grabar, and Marilyn Jenkins-Madina, Islamic
Art and Architecture, 650-1250. (New Haven: Yale UP, 2001), 66.
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