The Islamic Empire was formed
around 600 CE. The Byzantine Empire was formed around 300 CE. Both empires,
like many other civilizations, had art that represented who and what they were
and believed in. Taking a glance at both cultures, the Islamic and Byzantine
Empires had some obvious differences in their art styles. The Islamic art below
does not have accurate human representation- instead, the figures are
fairy-like, and the art is geometrical and symmetrical. The Byzantine artwork below
has people drawn in the right proportions and are put in a curvy,
landscape-like setting. But, Byzantine and Islamic art were affected by many similar
things, such as religion and travel.
According to the article written by Katharine Baetjer for the Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, this wood piece was painted with the physical representation of Christ inside the Temple. These icons served as religious symbols. In particular, this wood piece was identified with an inscription: “the Purification.” In the artwork, the Virgin Mary is shown presenting the child Jesus to the prophet Simon for the “customary rite of purification” . Behind the Virgin, there is the prophet Anna, who is holding a Greek scroll saying that the child is the one who created heaven and earth. To the far left is Joseph. There are many bright colors in the painting and much of the gold color in between Mary and Simon. The border is painted blue with connected red squares. There is much Greek used in the design, and the wood used to create the icon is chipped and damaged. The painting is very bright and has an overall appearance of being very saturated with color.
This artwork is an illustration for the Arabic text shown underneath. Once again, there is a
large use of the color gold in the tapestry and such. The man is boiling
something in the pot, while there are more supplies above him. A Heilbrunn
timeline of art history written by the Metropolitan Museum of Art states that
this page is from the Baghdad School of the 1200’s. The use of bright colors is
topical to the School, for most reference books found there had brightly
colored illustrations. Also pertaining to the School was the use of geometrical
symmetry and figures in normal, everyday clothing. This page came from a
reference book on medicines.
I.
Religion is a key factor in both Islamic and
Byzantine art.
A.
Byzantine
1.
Christianity
a)
Divinity is Infinity
B.
Islamic Empire
1.
Muslim
a)
Divinity is Infinity
(1)
Used calligraphy
C.
Religion to Art
a)
Islam
(1)
Presence of God
(a)
Some paintings with the representation of
Mohammad
(2)
Presence of people
(a)
Use of figures
(b)
Deemed acceptable after much conflict
(3)
Animals and Islam
(b)
Still have some animal representations
(4)
Also used Christian icons as examples for
iconography
b)
Byzantine
(1)
Presence of God
(a)
Jesus
(b)
Virgin Mary
(c)
Prophets
(2)
Presence of people
(a)
Bible influenced artists to paint historical
figures in Christianity
(a)
Artists painted interaction between holy animals
and humans
(i)
Lamb represented purity, sacrifice and Christ
(ii)
Griffin represented Apollo
(iii)
Jonah and the Big Fish (Whale)
D.
Religion affected art. But religion also
traveled in the form of monks and other people, and travel and trade affected
art as well.
A.
Empires geographically close
1.
Byzantine to the north of Islamic Empire
B.
Traveling
1.
Islam
a)
Missionaries spreading Islam
(1)
Converted countries would be influenced by Islamic
art and vice versa
(2)
Began to influence Islamic artists to use
figures
b)
Political travels
(1)
Diplomats
(3)
Asked Byzantine artists to work on the Dome of
the Rock
2.
Byzantine
a)
Liked the calligraphy and arabesques of the Islamic
empire
b)
Used it on the First Church of the Monastery
(1)
Greece
C.
Both the Byzantine and Islamic empires were
influenced by many of the same things, such as religion and traveling.
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