This week’s education feature dives into the beautiful geometric patterns in historic mosques. I geeked out on the following resources to refresh my knowledge on Islamic art – The Met, the History of Art course on HOWU, tourism sites and scholarly articles.
When you compare the art found in mosques to churches, you’ll notice some key differences. Churches, for example, often showcase paintings, stained glass art, and sculptures of religious figures such as Jesus, Mother Mary, and the saints. Mosques, however, do not include figural representations because Muslims believe that the creation of living things is unique to God, and they don’t want to encourage idolatry.
The geometric patterns found in mosques are stunningly beautiful and intricate. The patterns’ purpose is to not copy nature but to reflect what nature’s represents. According to this research article written by Loai M. Dabbour, geometry “represents an expression of the order of the universe as a visual representation of the truth.”
We only focus on three periods of the evolution of Islamic geometric design. Note that this is a slice of Islam’s rich history and the use of patterns in Islamic religious decoration.
While viewing the images below, notice the widespread use of circles. The research article “Evolution of Islamic Geometric Patterns” notes that the deliberate use of circular design “emphasizes One God and the role of Mecca.” Other common geometric construction designs found in early mosques include the six-point, such as hexagons and 6-point stars, and eight-point designs, such as octagons, 8-point stars, and the 8-fold rosette. As time moves forward, the geometric patterns expanded to include 10-point shapes, such has decagons, 10-point stars and the 10-fold rosettes, and even to 16-point geometric shapes.
The below graphics depict the basic construction of these geometric designs:
Source: “Geometric Proportions: The Underlying Structure of Design Process for Islamic Geometric Patterns“
Source: “Geometric Proportions: The UnderlyingStructure of Design Process for Islamic Geometric Patterns“
Let’s view some of the historical mosques and their geometric patterns,
3 Periods of Geometric Patterns in Mosques
Early Period – Up to ~900 AD
Great Mosque of Kairouan, Tunisia
The early period of geometric shapes in mosques pictured vegetal and floral patterns. The Great Mosque of Kairouan, which was constructed in 670 AD and rebuilt in 836 AD, features these geometric shape designs.
Photo: Mahdi Jwini
Photo: Tai_Mab
Mosque of Ibn-Tulun, Egypt
A milestone for geometric shape design in mosques is the 6-and 8-point geometric shapes. Take a look at this historic mosque, which also includes the earliest examples of woven geometric patterns.
Source: http://patterninislamicart.com/
A photo posted by NG (@ng_noah) on Dec 24, 2016 at 11:23am PST
A photo posted by Taimour Othman | تيمور عثمان (@taimouro) on Jan 20, 2017 at 3:02am PST
Source: Michal Huniewicz
In a spiritual state of mind ❤ #throwback
A photo posted by Noora Sultan Saqer Al Suwaidi (@noorasultansaqeralsuwaidi) on Dec 26, 2016 at 2:39am PST
#Islamic #Cairo #travel #wonderlust #travelblogger
A photo posted by Fatih Çiçek (@maamafiih) on Dec 21, 2016 at 4:58pm PST
Middle Stage: 11th – 13th Century
During this timeframe, artists included a wider variety of patterns and they began to use Girih tiles. Five girih tiles, each with decorative painted lines, placed next to each other create a stunning beautiful geometric shape.
Great Mosque of Isfahan, Iran
A photo posted by Faimeh (@fahiimeh.sh) on Jan 22, 2017 at 7:46am PST
The below image contains Muqarnas, which takes geometric patterns to the 3-D level. Muqarnas are structures that are built inside a half-dome ceiling. It contains curved walls, also known as squinches, that connects the floor to the ceiling.
A photo posted by Takeo (@nidaodao) on Jan 29, 2017 at 1:18am PST
A photo posted by Takeo (@nidaodao) on Jan 29, 2017 at 1:18am PST
Photo: Diego Delso, delso.photo, License CC-BY-SA
Late Stage – 16th – 17th Century
Alhambra, Spain
The Alhambra’s history is unique, to put it quite simply. In fact, it was first built in AD 889 as a Roman fortress. However, we will pick up from when the Moors took charge of the fortress in the mid-13th century. The Moorish emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar rebuilt what is now the current palace and walls during that time. You’ll observe that the geometric designs advanced to include 12-point and 16-point patterns.
The History of Art instructor Carolina Caycedo notes that Alhambra’s “interior courtyards and halls are richly decorated with the most subtle lacework ornamentations, known as arabesques. The domed chambers were built in an intricate geometrical pattern based on arches, and covered with elaborate stucco decorations and mosaics with golden backgrounds.”
Source: https://www.alhambradegranada.org
Source: https://www.alhambradegranada.org
Source: https://www.alhambradegranada.org
Source: https://www.alhambradegranada.org
Source: Nuria Pérez
Source: Nuria Pérez
Source: Nuria Pérez
Learn more about culture and art when you enroll in The History of Art course on HOWU.
#religiousdecoration #geometricalpatterns #coolgeometricpatterns #geometricpatterns #islamicgeometricdesigns #religiousart #islamicgeometricdesign #mosques #graphicgeometry #geometricalshapedesign #islamicgeometricpatterns #arthistory #beautifulgeometricpatterns #historicmosques