Islamic Aesthetics: An Introduction

Product Information

Allen, T. (1988). Aniconism and figural representation in Islamic art. In T. Allen (Ed.), Five essays on Islamic art (pp. 17–37). Sebastapol, CA: Solipsist. Necipoğlu, G. (1995). The Topkapı scroll: Geometry and ornament in Islamic architecture. Santa Monica, CA: Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities. Tabbaa, Y. (2001). The transformation of Islamic art during the Sunni revival. Seattle, Washington/London: University of Washington.

Holod, R. (1988). Text, plan and building: On the transmission of architectural knowledge. In M. Ševčenko (Ed.), Theories and principles of design in the architecture of Islamic societies (pp. 1–12). Cambridge, MA: Aga Khan Program for Architecture at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Abdel Haleem, Muhammad. Understanding the Qurʾan: Themes and Styles. London and New York: I. B. Tauris, 2001.

Other Subject Areas

A. (2002). The use of cubic equations in Islamic art and architecture. Nexus: Architecture and Mathematics, 4, 165–179. In Islamic geography, the framework of the concept of art defined as “fine art” is very recent. The branches of art were considered separate sciences, such as the science of music and the science of poetry, until recently. In addition, art and craft are not categorically separated. For this reason, when it comes to Islamic art, a very wide area of activity emerges. It is often argued that a very special sort of consciousness went into creating Islamic art, that Islamic art is very different from other forms of art, that Muslims are not allowed to portray human beings in their art, and that calligraphy is the supreme Islamic art form. Oliver Leaman challenges all of these ideas, and argues that they are misguided. Instead, he suggests that the criteria we should apply to Islamic art are identical to the criteria applicable to art in general, and that the attempt to put Islamic art into a special category is a result of orientalism. Leaman criticizes the influence of Sufism on Islamic aesthetics and contends that it is generally misleading regarding both the nature of Islam and artistic expression. He discusses issues arising in painting, calligraphy, architecture, gardens, literature, films, and music and pays close attention to the teachings of the Qur’an. In particular he asks what it would mean for the Qur’an to be a miraculous literary creation, and he analyzes two passages in the Qur’an–those of Yusuf and Zulaykha (Joseph and Zuleika) and King Sullayman (Solomon) and the Queen of Sheba. His arguments draw on examples from history, art, philosophy, theology, and the artefacts of the Islamic world, and raise a large number of difficulties in the accepted paradigms for analyzing Islamic art. Islamic Aesthetics: An Introduction by Oliver Leaman – eBook Details

Grünbaum, B. (2006). What symmetry groups are present in the Alhambra. Notices of the American Mathematical Society, 53(6), 670–673. Castéra, J.-M. (2003). Play with infinity. In J. Barrallo et al. (Ed.), Meeting Alhambra: ISAMA-bridges conference proceedings (pp. 189–196). Granada, Spain: University of Granada.Islamic wall art, in particular, can be a game-changer for any living space. These artworks encapsulate the essence of Islamic aesthetics. By incorporating a piece of Islamic wall art , one can: