No art has ever been beautiful when restricted but Islamic Art proves to be an exception. According to the Islamic faith, art could not depict living beings and therefore Islamic Art seldom has any human or animal depictions but has arabesque, calligraphy, ceramics and floral designs. For Muslims depiction of living forms through art is audacity and challenge towards God who created humans with the help of his creative powers and it is only in his power to create such perfect shapes. No human should ever endeavor to imitate God’s work. Art and religion are intertwined and art reflects the strong belief of people in their religious teaching and its implementation in daily life.

Islamic art does not only refer to art that has been created in Islamic countries but also the lands that they ruled and influenced the art of that land, for example India which reflects a very healthy combination of Indian and Islamic Art. Islamic art has a very unique characteristic wherein the art is beyond temporality as a result of which people from and past and present both relate to it which adds to its popularity in every century.

History of Islamic Art

The history of Islamic Art is vast and requires a thorough study to get all the minute details, though I would certainly try to describe the history in brief. The Islamic history of art is worth studying after the Muslims stated expanding. They reach the land of Byzantines and Sassanids and influence their art and architecture. They also pick up elements from their art and architecture. The products of this period are the unglazed ceramics, which are dominant in vegetal motifs and also some living forms that were accepted with a lot of opposition but still images of the warrior king and lion as the symbol of nobility and royalty.

Then came the stage of Umayyads who improved upon the Islamic art and architecture. They brought in the changes in the architecture of the Islam and those changes remained to become the patent style of Muslim style of architecture The columns which are an integral part of Muslim Architecture came in the picture some where around this time. Then came the dome and mosaic followed by metal work and readaptation of typical Islamic motifs and combining them with all the cultural elements that they picked up from the other cultures.

Then came the Abbasids who shifted the space of Islamic Art to Baghdad as they shifted the capital and this shift again exposed Islamic Art to another culture and its art. So now Islamic art was exposed to eastern cultures and art instead of western cultures and art. The architecture of this period shows that these rulers liked luxury and pleasure. In the meantime Quran was coded and it had 114 chapters, which were written in Kufic style. In this era textiles also played a major role and the Islamic Art.After Abbasids there were many dynasties that held the reigns of Islam World and kept on adding new and better elements in the already beautiful and rich Islamic Art.

Forms of Islamic Art

There are various forms of Islamic Art that are to be studied when researching about it. Here are some of them:

Calligraphy- It is the art of writing which had a great intellectual and religious importance in Islamic art since writing the holy verses was considered to be the most sacred duty a Muslim can have so they devised a new way of writing the verses. The verses were in Arabic, which is the language in which God revealed the divine knowledge to Prophet Muhammad. Calligraphy was given so much importance also because of the Sharia law, which forbade Muslims from depicting a living form on the walls or in paper as a part of art form. Therefore more and more people wrote in this particular style of writing and put in efforts to make it beautiful. As stated earlier the verses were initially written in naksh and kufic. Then came the ta’liq, thuluth and diwani, which also is considered a part of calligraphy.

Architecture- As stated earlier that Islamic architecture is a fine blend of the many cultures that it came across but internalized all these different elements and created something that was unique. Muslim architecture is pronounced in the architecture of the mosques. The domes and hypostyle became the trade mark of Islamic art and all the designs that are used in Islamic architecture have a strong scientific base like the honeycomb design that is so emphatic in the entrance of Taj Mahal is actually to refract the little light that enters the structure so that it seems well lit. Calligraphy is also used on the walls of the structure, which apart from sending God’s message also helped to keep a record of all the historical events and the details of the structure and the reason for its construction. Most of the architecture follows a geometric pattern, which exemplifies that they need symmetry and organization. It is a major Islamic art pattern. The Islamic architecture also has a major role for mirror and water, which helps to increase the visual impact of the architecture.

These two forms played a major role in Islamic art. Other than this there was work on textiles like taffeta and cotton, miniature paintings that was given a new zeal when Mughal rulers encouraged it though it went against the Sharia law and Muslim carpet work.    

Poushali Ganguly : Buzzle.com