AP Art History

Resources

Key Ideas

• Most important building for Muslim worship is the MOSQUE.
• Islamic people pray towards the city of Mecca, the holiest site in Islam, the direction is  identified by a niche in the Mosque, called a mihrab indicating the qibla wall)
• Artworks include calligraphy with arabesques (interweaving motifs and geometric patterns) and tessellations
• Calligraphy is the most prized art form (Persian Manuscripts)

"Calligraphy is the most highly regarded and most fundamental element of Islamic art. It is significant that the Qur’an, the book of God's revelations to the Prophet Muhammad, was transmitted in Arabic, and that inherent within the Arabic script is the potential for developing a variety of ornamental forms. The employment of calligraphy as ornament had a definite aesthetic appeal but often also included an underlying talismanic component. While most works of art had legible inscriptions, not all Muslims would have been able to read them. One should always keep in mind, however, that calligraphy is principally a means to transmit a text, albeit in a decorative form."

~METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

6 ELEMENTS OF ISLAMIC MOSQUE ARCHITECTURE

1) ARCHES- HORSESHOE, POINTED AND MUQARNAS

2)CALLIGRAPHY- POWER & BEAUTY OF THE KORAN

3)GEOMETRIC MOSAICS=TESSELLATIONS

4)LARGE PRAYER SPACES

5) 3Ms- MIHRAB, MINBAR & MINARET

6) QIBLA WALL- POSITION TOWARD MECCA & DIRECTS COMMUNITY PRAYER

•  5 Pillars of Islam

1. SHAHADAH-Proclaim that there is only one God and that his prophet is Muhammad

2. SALAT-Muslims should pray 5 times per day toward Mecca

3. ZAKAT-Provide for the poor

4. SAWN-Must fast during the month of Ramadan

5. HAJI-Make a pilgrimage to Mecca