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The earliest
architectural monument of Islam that retains most of its original form
is the Dome of the Rock (Qubbat
al-Sakhrah) in Jerusalem, constructed in 691-92. It has mosaics depicting
scrolling vines and flowers, jewels, and crowns in greens, blues, and
gold. Similar in some aspects is the later
Great Mosque of Damascus
which was built by Al Walid over what was originally a Roman temple. The
interior walls have stone mosaics that depict crowns, fantastic plants,
realistic trees, and even empty towns. This is thought to represent Paradise
for the faithful Muslim. Both the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and
The great Mosque of Damascus
used the Syrian cut-stone technique of building and popularized the use
of the dome.
The 8th-century
desert palace Khirbat al-Mafjar
(in present day Jordan)
reveals a wealth of carved and molded stucco decoration,
sculptured stone relief's, and figural fresco paintings. In 750 the
Abbasid dynasty moved the capital
east to Baghdad, and from 836 to 892 the Abbasid rulers resided at Samarra.
The Great Mosque of Samarra is
an important example of the Iraqi hypostyle, noted for its massive size
and spectacular Minaret. In Iran few Islamic buildings erected before
the 10th cent. are still standing. Sassanid building techniques, such
as the Squinches, were combined with
the mosque form. Sassanid influence is also strong in many
Umayyad dynasty residential palaces,
built mostly in Syria. The most famous is the 8th-century palace of Mshatta;
much of its delicately carved stone facade is now in Berlin.
In the
middle of the 8th cent. the last of the Umayyads escaped to Spain and
re-founded his dynasty there.
The great Mosque of Cordoba
was begun in 785 and is famous for its rows of double-tiered arches. The
mosque was extended four times. The culture of Islamic Spain reached its
apogee in Moorish art and architecture. Faïence and lacy pierced-stone
screens are the hallmarks of its decoration. The same style prevails in
N Africa and is seen at its best in Fès, Morocco, where much elaborately
carved wood is used. The Mudé jar style of Spain, employed throughout
the 18th cent. and influential until much later, is based on this architecture.
Late in
the 9th cent. the governor of Egypt, Ibn Tulun, initiated the high period
of Egypto-Islamic art with the building of his famous mosque in Cairo. In the 10th century the Fatimids introduced into Egypt the decorative stalactite ceiling from Iran and placed emphasis on decorative flat moldings. The most important Fatimids buildings are the Cairo Mosques of al-Azhar
and al-Aqmar. The cruciform Mosque of Hasanin Cairo, built by a Mamluk sultan in 1536, still reflects Persian influence.
The mosque known as Quwwat Al-Islam (Might of Islam) was the first built in Delhi after the Islamic conquest of India -
a distinct style, preserved mainly in architecture, developed after the
Delhi Sultanate was
established (1192). This art made extensive use of stone and reflected
Indian adaptation
to Islam rule, until Mughals art
replaced it in the 17th cent, seen in Taj
Mahal. The square Char Minar of Hyderabad (1591) with large arches,
arcades, and minarets is typical.
In Turkey
the mosque form was also derived from Persia, as was most Turkish art.
The great Byzantine church of Hagia Sophia, adapted for use as a mosque, greatly influenced Turkish architects. The
most famous among these
is Sinan, chief architect in the Ottoman court from 1539 until his death in 1588. He constructed or designed most of Sulayman I's buildings, the most noted of which is his
Sulayman Mosque
(c.1557) in Istanbul, where he is buried. It has four minarets and stained-glass
windows flanking the mihrab.
The mosque of Sultan Ahmed is similarly distinguished by its dome
lit by numerous windows, and wall surfaces covered with green and blue
tiles. Fine ornate buildings were erected in Turkey until the middle of
the 17th cent.
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As a major building material, brick also determined the form taken by the
buildings' various types of vaulting and domed roofs. The round base of the
dome, where it met the top of a square room, was determined by its ground plan;
the transition between circle and square was achieved by means of squinches,
i.e.
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Mughals Architecture introduced many new features like arches, domes and Squinches and also evolved some new trends and techniques of decoration.
Islamic art is an art of line and Islamic artisans can produce beautiful
culmination of lines to bring out masterpieces in two-dimensional forms, which
were totally lacking in Pre Islamic art. More.. |
