Islamic Art and Architecture: Styles, Features, and Motifs

Islamic Art: Defining Characteristics and Architectural Styles

Key Features of Islamic Art

The inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula had not developed a distinct artistic or architectural style, as most were nomadic. When they converted to Islam and expanded their territories through conquest, they appropriated the cultures of the conquered peoples. This led to the creation of an eclectic art form, a synthesis or addition of elements from diverse cultures.

However, Islamic art developed a very distinctive style, recognizable across different eras and regions. This style is distinguished by:

• Unity: Life follows standards dictated by the Quran.
• Syncretism: A synthesis of artistic elements from diverse sources (Persian, Byzantine, Greek, Roman, Visigothic, etc.).
• Aniconism: Absence of images in religious buildings and a focus on decorative, rather than symbolic, motifs.

The most important artistic creations include architecture (mosques and palaces) and decoration in buildings and everyday objects.

Islamic Architecture: Structures and Styles

Construction materials often included readily available resources such as brick, stone, plaster, tile, and wood. These materials, along with decorative coverings, facilitated the rapid construction of buildings in newly conquered lands.

Load-bearing or supporting pillars and columns can sometimes be overlapping, as seen in the Mosque of Cordoba. Capitals are varied, ranging from reused capitals from other arts to capitals developed within Islamic art itself (e.g., cubic, muqarnas). They are often of modest height, reflecting the overall scale of the buildings.

Arches are a prominent feature, with common types including the semicircular (half-point), horseshoe, and pointed horseshoe arches. Decorative arches often feature lobulated or mixtilinear interlocking designs. Arches are also frequently decorated with contrasting colors in their voussoirs, as seen in the Mosque of Cordoba.

Roofs can be flat or domed. Vaults, often false (non-structural), are typically found over sacred spaces and are constructed from wood or plaster, with stone being less common. Notable vault types include ribbed vaults (where ribs do not cross at the center, characteristic of Caliphate architecture like the Mosque of Cordoba), melon or scalloped vaults, and stalactite vaults (muqarnas), famously seen in the Alhambra in Granada.

Decorative Principles

The decor in Islamic art is characterized by:

• Abstraction: A strong tendency towards abstract forms.
• Repetition: Use of recurring patterns.
• Horror Vacui (Fear of Empty Space): A preference for filling entire surfaces with intricate decoration.
• Aniconism: Generally avoids the representation of animals or human figures, particularly in religious contexts (exceptions exist in secular palaces or chateaux).

Common Decorative Motifs

The themes represented are:

• Calligraphy: Written script, often from the Quran, serving as a primary decorative element and conveying religious messages in the absence of figural imagery.
• Ataurique (Arabesque): Stylized plant motifs, often intertwined in intricate patterns.
• Arabesque: Intricate patterns of flowing lines and geometric figures, often forming infinite series.
• Muqarnas: A distinctive three-dimensional decorative element composed of small, interconnected prisms or cells, typically made of plaster or wood, resembling stalactites. Prominent in Nasrid art, such as in the Alhambra in Granada.
• Sebka: A decorative pattern consisting of an interlocking rhombus network formed by overlapping and crossing arches.

Islamic art also commonly integrates architectural elements with a decorative function, such as the superposition of arches, plaster or stucco columns attached to walls, and intricate curtain walls.