Arabesque

Arabesque is a design element used in Islamic art and architecture. The style is characterized by an intricate series of geometric patterns that often resemble intertwined natural forms such as plants, stems, or leaves. The style was first developed around the tenth century and was primarily used in decorating mosques and manuscripts. The complex patterns of arabesque design are heavily influenced by the religious philosophy of Islam and are meant to evoke the infinite nature of Allah (God). The term arabesque was coined by Europeans during the nineteenth century and simply means "in Arab style."

Background

The Islamic religion was founded in the early seventh century by the Prophet Muhammad who was said to have received the word of Allah in a divine revelation. Muhammad preached his message near his birthplace, the prosperous trade city of Mecca, and soon Islam began to spread across the Middle East. In the years after his death, Muhammad's followers established great Muslim kingdoms, conquering lands from Spain to northern Africa and into western Asia. Under the Umayyad dynasty, the first Muslim empire that ruled from 660–750, Islam began to develop its own distinct form of art.

Islamic art was influenced by several neighboring cultures. Chief among these were the Sasanian Empire, the last of the Persian kingdoms located near modern-day Iran, and the Byzantine Empire, the remnants of the former Roman Empire that ruled the eastern Mediterranean from 330–1453. Islamic artistic traditions were also influenced by later contact with the Mongols and Chinese.

The primary forms of early Muslim art drew on older artistic traditions such as stone carving, floor and wall mosaics, wall paintings, and calligraphy. This art often depicted elements of the natural world, but by the eighth to the tenth centuries, Islamic art began to shift toward more abstract forms. Conflicts with invaders from Central Asia during this period weakened the Islamic dynasties of the Middle East, fragmenting them into smaller rival kingdoms. As a result, Muslim art split to represent the different local influences, but it maintained a common philosophy based on the shared Islamic religion.

Overview

Islamic law forbids any artistic depiction of Allah or Muhammad, considering it a form of idolatry. While depictions of people were not strictly forbidden in early Muslim art, human images were rarely used in traditional artwork. Over time, this tradition became enshrined as law. This was in contrast to early Christian art, which relied heavily on depictions of religious figures.

The arabesque style of art is believed to have developed in the region of Baghdad about the tenth century. The style is characterized by a repetitive geometric pattern often using plant-like elements resembling leaves, stems, or tendrils. These elements were common in early Islamic art and may have evolved from vine-like images representing the mythical tree of life. The symmetrical patterns in arabesque were created to appear to grow from one another, creating new versions of themselves, rather than branching off as plants do in the natural world. The design is an example of the eternal spiral—a curved, unbroken pattern that appears to extend indefinitely in all directions. In Islamic belief, the patterns represent the infinite and all-encompassing aspects of Allah. It symbolizes the journey of the universe from creation to infinity beyond the material world.

Arabesque style was used in all aspects of Islamic art. Its most notable applications were in patterns on the domes and walls of mosques. The design was used in several prominent examples of Islamic architecture, including the Great Mosque of Damascus in Syria and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. The arabesque pattern could be easily applied to any surface, making it popular in woodworking, metalworking, and pottery. The designs were also used as intricate decorative pages in illuminated manuscripts, which were handwritten, brightly colored medieval texts that were usually religious in nature. They were often used to adorn the front and back pages of the Quran, the Muslim holy book. Some of the more elaborate arabesque-decorated Qurans were quite large, measuring about 30 inches (76 centimeters) high.

Arabesque art is also called Islimi, or biomorphic art. The name arabesque was not applied to the style until the nineteenth century when the French armies of Napoleon Bonaparte encountered it during the invasion of Egypt. The style exhibits a seamless, rhythmic pattern in which no element appears to move into the foreground. One of the most influential arabesque designs originated from the Seljuk Turks, an eleventh-century Muslim empire that stretched from modern-day Iraq to the eastern Mediterranean coast. The Seljuks were originally from Central Asia and brought their artistic traditions with them when they migrated west in the tenth century. Seljuk art originally incorporated images of animals and birds; however, as they adopted Islam, they changed their patterns to reflect the new religious philosophy. The wing and beak patterns of Seljuk art transformed into vegetal designs known as Rumi.

The Rumi style of arabesque featured the concept of the "pivotal ball," a circular shape around which the rest of the pattern seemed to revolve. Additional geometric patterns added to the design also appeared to grow from the central, circular shape. Another major concept in Rumi arabesque was known as tepelik design. Tepelik was a pointed or mountain-shaped pattern that could stand alone or be used in a symmetrical, mirror-like design.

During the Renaissance period of the fourteenth to seventeen centuries, European artists adopted arabesque style, incorporating it into tapestries, metalwork, and sculpture. About the same time, Islamic art was encountering Chinese influences from the Mongols, a people from Central Asia whose empire stretched as far west as Iran. True arabesque design began to be replaced in the Islamic world by more realistic floral designs depicting chrysanthemum, peony, and lotus flowers.

Bibliography

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