AP Art History: Islamic Art Barron's Edition

The importance of the Bapistre de St. Louis is a. rich material used to create it b. depiction of royal family members and their entourage c. use of lions and peacocks as royal symbols d. purple color which symbolized royalty

A (basin is made of brass, inlaid with gold/silver- rich items indicating court patronage)

-Palace of the Nasrid sultans of Southern Spain -Light airy interiors, fortress like exterior -Built on hill overlooking Granada -Contains palaces, gardens, water pools, fountains, courtyards -Small low bubbling fountains in each room provide cool temperatures in the summer -Court of the Lions: thin columns support heavy roofs, a feeling of weightlessness, intricately patterned and sculptured ceilings/walls, central fountain supported by protective lions; animal imagery permitted in secular monuments, parts of the walls are chiseled through to create vibrant light patterns within -Hall of the Sisters: sixteen windows at top of hall, light dissolves into a honeycomb of stalactites that dangle fro the ceiling, abstract patterns, abstraction of forms, 5000 muqarnas refract light; carved in stuck onto ceiling, highly sophisticated and refined interior, perhaps used as a music room for receptions -

Alhambra (1354-1391, whitewashed adobe stucco, wood, tile, paint, gilding, Granada Span)

Islamic art dominates West ______ and South Europe. Patrons were royal and ______ figures. Islamic art is influenced by trade with surrounding traditions. Islam in the dominant religion in North Africa, West Asia and Spain Islam unites a diverse religion and the architecture includes mosques, tombs and monuments. It is spread through ____________.

Asia, religious, pilgrimages.

-Signed by artist six times -Original use: washing hands at official ceremonies -Later use: baptisms for french royal family (association with St. Louis fictional) -Hunting alternate with battle scenes along side -Mamluk hunters and Mongol enemies -Bottom of bowl: decorated with fish, eels, crabs, frags, crocodiles -used to baptize children of royal family -abtrast pattern of sea animals -scenes of battle -Perhaps not made for someone who was Muslim -rich imagery such as leopard, camel, antelope, all running/jumping, movement and energy

Basin or Baptistere de St. Louis (Muhamad ibn al-Zain, 1320-1340, brass inlaid with gold/silver, Louvre, Paris)

What does Islamic architecture borrow freely from?

Byzantine, Sassanian, Early Christian

The decoration on the basin called the Bapistere de St. Louis is most noted for its use of a. calligraphy b. contrapposto c. horror vacui d. tessellation

C (all of the surfaces on the basin are covered with decoration, the definition of horror vacuo is fear of empty spaces suggests that artists intentionally filled the whole surface with patterns as in the case with this basin)

How has the Great Mosque at Cordoba been altered by Christians after the reconquest of Spain a. interior arches were taken down to make a vast unified space b. mihrab was destroyed and an altar was placed in its stead c. interior was rerooted using European vaulting techniques D. building was turned into a church and then back into a mosque again

C (after spain was reconquered from the moors in 1492, this building had its original wooden ceiling removed and european style vaulting was installed)

The original function of the basin called the Bapistere de St. Louis was for A. baptisms of infants in the royal household B. coronation rituals of royalty C. Retelling mythological stories of the ancient past D. washing hands during official ceremonies

D (originally this basin functioned as a bowl for washing hands during ceremonies. it was later brought into the french royal court and used for baptisms)

-Domed wooden octagon -Influenced by centrally planned buildings -Columns taken from Roman monuments -Sacred rock where Adam was buried, Abraham nearly scarified Isaac, Muhammad ascended to heaven. -Mosaic Arabic calligraphy urges Moslems to embrace Allah as one god and indicates that the Christian notion of the Trinity is an aspect of polytheism -Oldest surviving Qur-an verses; first use of Qur'an verses in architecture -Faces towards Mecca -At the center is large rock: location where Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son Ismail, -Rock commemorates night journey of Muhammad, enclosed by two ambulatories and an octagonal exterior wall -Pilgrimage for the faithful -Mosaics

Dome of the Rock (691-692, stone masonry and wood roof decorated with glazed ceramic tile and gilt aluminum and bronze dome, Jerusalem)

-Arabic read right to left -Kufic script: strong uprights and long horizontals -Great clarity of text important because several readers read books at once, some at a distance -Consonants are scripted, vowels are indicated by dots or markings around the other letters -Qur'ans were complied and codified in the mid seventh century, however, the earliest surviving Qur-an is from the ninth century

Folio from the Qur-an (eighth-ninth century, ink and gold on parchment)

-Built on the site of a church; after Christian reconquest center of the mosque was used for a church -Kufic calligraphy on walls -Double arched columns, brilliantly articulated in alternating band of color; voussoirs -Hypostyle hall: filled with columns, courtyard with a fountain in the middle, orange grove, covered walkway circling the courtyard, minaret -Mihrab: focal point, horseshoe arched mihrab or prayer niche, identify the wall that faces Mecca, gold tessaere creates combination of dark blues, etc. Dome: crisscrossing ribs that create pointed arches all lavishly covered with gold mosaic in a radial pattern -Light/airy interior -Horseshoe shaped arches have a tradition in Visigothic Spain and Roman architecture -Hypostyle mosque: no central focus, no congregational worship -Original wooden ceiling replaced by vaulting -Complex dome over mihrab with elaborate squinches -Columns are spolia from ancient Roman structures -Relatively short columns made ceilings low; doubling of arches enhances interior space -Exterior: contrast to interior, crude/compact, flat wall, vegetable motifs, shaped arch, geometric patterning -Interior: prayer hall was composed of large hypostyles, a courtyard with a fountain in the middle, an orange grove, a covered walkway circling the courtyard and a minaret, prayer hall grabs attention with its repeated geometry -different architectural styles combined Mihrab: focal point in the prayer hall, famous for horseshoe arched mihrab or prayer niche, made of gold tesserae Dome: above the mihrab, made of crisscrossing ribs that form pointed arches, covered with gold mosaics, made the space more holy Function: Temple of Janus, Visigiothic church, mosque, now present day church

Great Mosque of Cordoba (8th-10th centuries, stone, Cordoba, Spain)

Compare the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey and Mosque of Selim II in Edirne,Turkey.

Hagia Sophia: designed for Christian worship, Mosque of Selim II: designed for islamic worship, Christian images destroyed, altar/Christian imagery removed, mihrab has been installed, islamic calligraphy and medallions have been added, minarets have been placed on the outside to call people to prayer Design of Selim taken from Hagia Sophia: dome resting on pendentitives, base of domes surrounded by windows, large window spaces on interior walls, large open interior space, large exterior massings to support the dome, decoration on walls of the interior

islamic pilgrimage to Mecca that is required as one of the five pillars of Islam

Hajj

rectangular vaulted space in a Muslim building that is walled on three sides and open on the fourth

Iwan

perforated ornamental stone screens in Islamic art

Jali

-Mecca is the spiritual center of Islam -Said to have been built by Ibrahim and Ishmael for God -Existing Structure encases the blackstone in the eastern corner, the only part of the original structure by Ibrahim that survives - Has been repaired and reconstructed many times since Mohammed's time -Cube-like in shape, covered by textiles -Destination for those making the hajj; circumambulate the Kaaba counterclockwise, seven times -means cube in Arabic -Holiest shrine in Islam

Kaaba (631-632, granite masonry, covered with silk curtain, gold and silver thread, Mecca, Saudi Arabia)

Islamic holy cities; Mecca is the birthplace of Muhammad and the city all Muslims turn to in prayer; Medina is where Muhammad was first accepted as the Prophet and where his tomb is located

Mecca, Medina

-Prayer niche -directional pointer, pray 5 times a day and faces Mecca -Brilliant blues -Right to Left

Mihrab

-Extremely thin soaring minarets -Abundant window space makes for brilliantly lit interior -Decorative display of mosaic and tile work -Inspired by Hagia Sophia but centrally planned -Octagonal interior with 8 pillars resting on a square set of walls -Open airy interior contrasts with conventional mosques that have partitioned interiors -Part of a complex including a hospital school library etc. -Transitions from square ground plan to round dome achieved by inserting smaller domes into the corners -huge piers support the dome

Mosque of Selim II (1568-1575, brick/stone, Edirne Turkey)

Prophet whose revelations and teachings form the foundations of Islam

Muhammad

honeycomb like decoration often applied in Islamic buildings to domes, niches, capitals or vaults. surface resembles intricate stalactites

Muqarna

small cylinder shaped container with a detachable lid used to contain cosmetics or jewelry

Pyxis

-Calligraphic inscription in Arabic identifies the owner, asks for Allah's blessings and tells us the function of the pyxis -Function: container for expensive aromatics -Gift for caliph's younger son -Horror Vacui -Vegetal and geometric motifs -Eight medallion scenes showing pleasure activities of the royal court: hunting, falconry, sports, musicians, -From Muslim Spain -Depicts ligitmacy -Lions symbolize the victorious (medallion shows lion attacking a bull) -Used for cosmetics -Sits open, small silver containers of perfume

Pyxis of al-Mughira (968, Ivory, Louvre, Paris)

direction toward Mecca which Muslims face in prayer

Qiblah

Islamic sacred text, dictacted to the Prophet Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel

Qur'an

What are the five pillars of Islam?

Shahada: profession of faith, basically practicing the monotheistic religion of Islam Salat: daily prayers (5), pray anywhere and towards Mecca Zakat: alms-giving, serve the less fortunate Saum: fasting during Ramadan, the holy month, Haji: pilgrimage to Mecca, visit the Kaaba and walk around it 7 times

T or F: Islam is a monotheistic religion and was founded by Muhammad in modern day Saudia Arabia (Mecca, focus of pilgrimage for muslims)

True

flowing intricate and symmetrical pattern deriving from floral motifs

arabesque

What are three types of patterns featured in Islamic art?

arabesques, calligraphy, tessellation

decorative or beautiful handwriting

calligraphy

630 c.e. to present

islamic time period

highly ornamental Islamic script

kufic

building, usually large, that contains tombs

mausoleum

central niche in a mosque, which indicates the direction to Mecca

mihrab

tall slender column used to call people to prayer

minaret

pulpit from which sermons are given

minbar

Muslim house of worship

mosque

Religious symbolism dominates ______, but is also richly represented in secular buildings such as tombs or palaces.

mosques

Islamic official who calls people to prayer traditionally from a minaret

muezzin

The use of figural art varies in the Islamic tradition. -Religious art contains ___ figures, but uses tessellation, calligraphy, and arabesques. Figural art flourishes in secular writings in Persia -Islamic art specializes in _______, book illuminations, textiles, and metalwork. It tends to avoid perspective, be two dimensional and have arabesque and geometric designs. Ceramics were created for useful and decorative purposes. Metalwork was used for sculptures, armor, and utilitarian items. -Carpets and tapestries are particularly prized examples of Islamic textiles -Excels in manuscript decoration, as well as wall paintings,

no, ceramics,

decoration using polygonal shapes with no gaps

tessellation

wedge shaped stone that forms the curved part of an arch; the central vossouir is called a keystone

voussoirs