Arte Islámico: Contexto Histórico
Islamic Art: Historical Context
Linda Komaroff
Linda Komaroff
Curadora de Arte Islámico y Jefa de Departamento Arte del Medio Oriente Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Ángeles
Curator of Islamic Art and Department Head, Art of the Middle East Los Angeles County Museum of Art
El término arte islámico puede resultar un tanto confuso para algunos. No solo abarca el arte creado específicamente para el servicio del islam, sino también al arte secular producido en territorios que se encuentran bajo la influencia o el dominio islámico, independientemente de la afiliación religiosa del artista o su patrocinador. El término sugiere, sin embargo, un arte cuyo estilo y propósito están unificados, y de hecho, se puede sostener que existen ciertas características que son comunes en el arte de todos los territorios islámicos. Si bien se trata de un arte muy dinámico, que habitualmente posee características regionales marcadas e influencias significativas de otras culturas, logra retener una coherencia general que resulta sorprendente si se considera la inmensidad de sus fronteras geográficas y temporales. De manera opuesta al arte occidental, en el cual la pintura y la escultura dominan el escenario, las llamadas “artes decorativas” son aquí el medio principal de expresión artística. Estas obras abarcan desde objetos de menor escala utilizados en la vida diaria hasta decoración arquitectónica de dimensiones monumentales. Un elemento de importancia primordial para el desarrollo de esta forma de arte es el propio Islam, el cual impulsó la creación de una cultura visual característica que posee un lenguaje artístico único y propio.
The term Islamic art may be confusing to some. It encompasses not only the art created specifically in the service of Islam but also the secular art produced in lands under Islamic rule or influence, whatever the artist’s or the patron’s religious affiliation. The term suggests an art unified in style and purpose, and indeed there are certain common features that distinguish the arts of all Islamic lands. Although this is a highly dynamic art, which is often marked by strong regional characteristics as well as by significant influences from other cultures, it retains an overall coherence that is remarkable given its vast geographic and temporal boundaries. The so-called decorative arts provide the primary means of artistic expression, in contrast to Western art, in which painting and sculpture are preeminent. These works include small-scale objects of daily use as well as more monumental architectural decoration. Of paramount concern to the development of this singular art is Islam itself, which fostered the creation of a distinctive visual culture with its own unique artistic language.
La caligrafía es el elemento más universal del arte islámico. Siempre se la ha considerado la forma de arte más noble debido a su conexión con el Corán, el libro sagrado de los musulmanes, escrito en árabe. La revelación del Corán y su posterior codificación de forma escrita tuvo un impacto incalculable en el desarrollo de la escritura y en la producción de libros en el primer siglo de la era (Detalle) Retrato de un Pachá Turco con Acompañantes, Lado Derecho de un Manuscrito de una Ilustración de Doble-Página Inscrita: “Nigari, esclavo de Selim Khan”.Turquía, c. 1570 Colección de Arte Turco de Edwin Binney III en el Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Ángeles, M.85.237.20 (Detail) Portrait of a Turkish Pasha with Attendants, Right Side of a Double-Page Manuscript Illustration Inscribed: “Nigari, slave of Selim Khan”.Turkey, c. 1570 The Edwin Binney, 3rd, Collection of Turkish Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, M.85.237.20
Calligraphy is the most universal element in Islamic art. It has always been regarded as the noblest form of art because of its connection to the Qur’an, the Muslim holy book, which is written in Arabic. The revelation of the Qur’an and its subsequent codification in written form had an incalculable impact on the development of writing and on book production in the first century of the Muslim era. Following the tradition of classical antiquity and Byzantium, the codex, or book, was adapted as the format for the Qur’an, which is made up of 114 chapters. The earliest Qur’ans were generally written in an often austere rectilinear script generally known as Kufic. From the twelfth century onward, Qur’ans were most often copied in a more fluid and curvilinear cursive script—that is, in one of the six traditional scripts, which include muhaqqaq, naskh, rayhan, riqa‘, tawqi‘, and thuluth. Verses quoted from the Qur’an, rendered in these scripts, became the most important decorative element on religious monuments and on their furnishings. This preoccupation with beautiful writing extended to all the arts—including secular manuscripts; inscriptions on palaces; and those applied to metalwork, pottery, stone, glass, wood, and textiles—and to non-Arabic-speaking peoples within the Islamic commonwealth whose languages—such as Persian, Turkish, and Urdu—were written in the Arabic script. 203