Book Details
For centuries the nature and meaning of Islamic art has been wrongly regarded in the West as mere decoration. In truth, because the portrayal of human and animal forms has always been discouraged on Islamic religious principles that forbid idolatry, the abstract art of Islam represents the sophisticated development of a nonnaturalistic tradition. Through this tradition, Islamic art has maintained its chief aim: the affirmation of unity as expressed in diversity.
In this fascinating study the author explores the idea that unlike medieval Christian art, in which the polarization of such forms and patterns was relegated to a background against which to set sacred images, the geometrical patterns of Islamic art can reveal the intrinsic cosmological laws affecting all creation. Their primary function is to guide the mind from the mundane world of appearances toward its underlying reality.
Numerous drawings connect the art of Islam to the Pythagorean science of mathematics, and through these images we can see how an Earth-centered view of the cosmos provides renewed significance to those number patterns produced by the orbits of the planets. The author shows the essential philosophical and practical basis of every art creation-- whether a tile, carpet, or wall-- and how this use of mathematical tessellations affirms the essential unity of all things. An invaluable study for all those interested in sacred art, "Islamic Patterns" is also a rich source of inspiration for artists and designers.
- Binding Paperback
- Author/s Critchlow, Keith
- ISBN13 9780500270714
- ISBN10 0500270716
- Pages 192
- Published 1999
Islamic patterns (An analytical and cosmological approach)
- Author Keith Critchlow
- Publisher THAMES & HUDSON
- ISBN 9780500270714
Our booksellers can check its availability and give you an estimate of when it will be ready.