Byzantine Empire
This
picture is of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, which was built in the 7th
century. In this picture you can see all of the different geometric shapes, the
domes represent heaven and the crosses symbolize the Christian faith. The Dome
of the Rock has the most area of original mosaic. This is unique because the Islam people are
the ones that had the Byzantine artists come and do this in the Dome of the
Rock.
This
is Mary and Jesus and the circle around their head represents a heavenly glow.
This is from the Toplou Monastery in Crete.
Islamic Civilization
In Islamic cultures you are not allowed to paint any person because they are iconoclastic, which means they ban all images of religious figures. So they use geometrical designs and patterns in their art to convey a message. Islamic art avoids replicating nature, so the only way to understand God’s creation is to study it. In this piece of art they used an eight or ten-pointed star in the middle of the piece and looks as it is spreading throughout the rest of the artwork. It is trying to show that everyone is a part of a complex interrelationship, which only God could create.
Outline
In both Byzantine and Islamic cultures the art is very
similar but also different. They are similar by how they both have roots on the
same prophets from Abraham. Yet they are different because of the content of
their art. Byzantine and Islamic religious cultures were different, their art
represented similar themes of geometry and iconoclastic views and religion.
1)
Geometry was a
commonly used component in both Byzantine and Islamic artwork.
a)
While Islamic
tile work is in geometric shapes in nature, the Byzantine mosaics were very
colorful.
b)
In Each geometric
shape represented religious themes.
i)
Geometric shapes are domes to represent heaven
and a cross to symbolize the christen faith
ii)
Byzantine
geometric patterns of crosses or domes represent Christ or a heavenly glow.
c)
Islamic by
contrast only represents the inter-relationship of things, never directly copying any living things.
i)
They do this
because they are iconoclastic and that means that they do not allow any
pictures of living beings, and they do this because of concern that the art
will be worshiped instead of the actual thing.
2)
Both the Byzantine
and Islamic were iconoclastic cultures.
a)
The Byzantine
iconoclastic cultures were limited to Emperor Leo’s reign from around the 8th
to 9th century.
i)
During this time
many artifacts were destroyed because they were allowed to have any pictures of
living beings, also the use of mosaics grew.
b)
Islamic art has
consistently followed this subject line.
i)
The only
exception is with flowers.
(1)While
flowers are living things, they are not beings.
(2)Flowers
are also depicted with symmetry, which corresponds to the geometric focus.
3)
Another similarly
of the art of Byzantine and Islamic is in the religious applications.
a)
Byzantine art
decorated the places of worship
i)
Byzantine art was
often used in biblical scenes in their subject matter, like Mary and Jesus.
b)
Islamic art was
had a lot of rules put on it because of religion.
i)
They had rules
put on there art because they were iconoclastic
c)
While their
religions were very different their art reflected either the direct representation of religious figures or the relationship of their religious
ideas.
Works Cited
· Wiles, Deborah.
"Got Soil?" : The Alhambra. N.p., 5 Aug. 2010. Web. 17 Dec.
2013.
· Halsall, Paul.
"Internet History Sourcebooks." Internet History Sourcebooks.
N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
· "Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem."
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
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