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The Formation of Islamic Art
This classic work on the nature of early Islamic art has now been brought up to date in order to take into consideration material that has recently come to light. In a new chapter, Oleg Grabar develops alternate models for the formation of Islamic art, tightens its chronology, and discusses its implications for the contemporary art of the Muslim world.
Reviews of the first
“Grabar examines the possible ramifications of sociological, economic, historical, psychological, ecological, and archaeological influences upon the art of Islam. . . [He] explains that Islamic art is woven from the threads of an Eastern, Oriental tradition and the hardy, surviving strands of Classical style, and [he] illustrates this web by means of a variety of convincing and well-chosen examples.”— Art Bulletin
“A book of absorbing interest and immense erudition. . . All Islamic archaeologists and scholars will thank Professor Grabar for a profound and original study of an immense and complex field, which may provoke controversy but must impress by its mastery and charm by its modesty.”— Times Literary Supplement
“Oleg Grabar, in this book of exceptional subtlety and taste, surveys and extends his own important contributions to the study of early Islamic art history and works out an original and imaginative approach to the elusive and complex problems of understanding Islamic art.”— American Historical Review
Reviews of the first
“Grabar examines the possible ramifications of sociological, economic, historical, psychological, ecological, and archaeological influences upon the art of Islam. . . [He] explains that Islamic art is woven from the threads of an Eastern, Oriental tradition and the hardy, surviving strands of Classical style, and [he] illustrates this web by means of a variety of convincing and well-chosen examples.”— Art Bulletin
“A book of absorbing interest and immense erudition. . . All Islamic archaeologists and scholars will thank Professor Grabar for a profound and original study of an immense and complex field, which may provoke controversy but must impress by its mastery and charm by its modesty.”— Times Literary Supplement
“Oleg Grabar, in this book of exceptional subtlety and taste, surveys and extends his own important contributions to the study of early Islamic art history and works out an original and imaginative approach to the elusive and complex problems of understanding Islamic art.”— American Historical Review
336 pages, Paperback
First published September 10, 1987
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About the author
Oleg Grabar
53 books24 followersأوليغ غرابار (Oleg Grabar) (من مواليد 3 نوفمبر 1929 في ستراسبورغ فرنسا، مؤرخ وعالم آثار، تخصص في مجال الفنون والعمارة الإسلامية. حصل على الدكتوراه من جامعة برنستون عام 1955. كان عضو في هيئة التدريس في جامعة ميتشيغان، في 1954-69، قبل أن يحصل على تعيين أستاذ في جامعة هارفارد. في عام 1980 أصبح أستاذ عمارة وفن إسلامي في جامعة هارفارد، وبقي حتى عام 1990 عندما انضم إلى معهد الدراسات العليا. أستاذ فخري منذ عام 1998.
Oleg Grabar (November 3, 1929 – January 8, 2011) was a French-born art historian and archeologist, who spent most of his career in the United States, as a leading figure in the field of Islamic art and architecture.
Oleg Grabar (November 3, 1929 – January 8, 2011) was a French-born art historian and archeologist, who spent most of his career in the United States, as a leading figure in the field of Islamic art and architecture.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 17, 2024
A satisfactory book for this topic, Islamic Art, but not a great one.
Reading much about Spain's great wonder of Moorish art and architecture, the Alhambra, earlier this year whetted my interest in learning more about art in the Muslim world. The columns, domes, and minarets --- the calligraphy, the geometric patterns, the abstractness of this in the effort of conveying beauty oft without portraying human or animal forms, it uniqueness --- made me wonder if there was much to learn about what seems to be a distinctive class of art worth enjoying and learning more about.
The author tries to discuss this class of art, but, unfortunately, gets too bogged down in long, tedious discussions about regional differences --- like between the Levant and Mesopotamia, Egypt, North Africa, and Central Asia. As a result, he actually weakens the notion of Islamic civilization as having its own unique art and architecture -- by this and by excessive rumination about the extents to which Islamic art is actually more derivative of the preceding cultures subjugated by Muslim conquests.
Also, not helping as much as I'd hoped, are the illustrations in the back of the book. The diagrams of mosques and palaces are not labeled clearly so it was difficult relating the points being discussed about their design and features to them. Also, pictures of the art are disappointingly all colorless -- in black and white--- really missing the brilliance and dazzle I've seen of Islamic art in other books and in art museums.
The book is an academic work, perhaps intended for a collegiate and scholarly audience. As I've seen in other such works, perhaps for fear of being taken down by other peer subject matter experts, the author never really makes definitive statements -- in this case --- about what exactly is "Islamic art". but couches his statements in inchoate speculations and debates that weaken the book. What makes Islamic art distinctive? What are its defining characteristics? While I am certainly no art critic, I do feel from what little I know as an amateur, that, in Islamic civilization, in general, from Spain to Central Asia, there are, at least, some common factors --- while, granted that in over 1,400 years of Islam, there are, no doubt, exceptions to all of them.
From the book, it would seem that in the Islamic world, unlike in the West, there's a paucity of artistic personalities. By that, I do not mean that it had no great artists --- only that we know nothing about the artists themselves who painted, crafted, and built these great works of art and architecture. In the West, in contrast, there the Michelangelos, Da Vincis, Rembrandts, Goyas, Bruneschellis, etc --- each with the artists' distinctive style -- and we can know their life story and relate how it may have influenced their work. None of that seems to be the case in the Islamic world.
That being the case that story of Islam's great artists are lost evidently to history, I think it would have been a nice touch if the author had thought to include today's Muslim artists' and craftsmens' views on Islamic art --- instead of Western scholars'. Being a highly traditional culture, no doubt, their skills and conventions they have today were passed down from generation to generation, perhaps similar in some ways to how Orthodox Christian iconography is. I would have enjoyed seeing their insights on how their art and their faith and culture relate to each other.
This book would probably function well enough as a text book for art majors and art history majors in becoming acquainted with Islamic art, but I do think that, for a broader audience, more color illustrations and firmer, definitive statements on Islamic art would have made it better.
Reading much about Spain's great wonder of Moorish art and architecture, the Alhambra, earlier this year whetted my interest in learning more about art in the Muslim world. The columns, domes, and minarets --- the calligraphy, the geometric patterns, the abstractness of this in the effort of conveying beauty oft without portraying human or animal forms, it uniqueness --- made me wonder if there was much to learn about what seems to be a distinctive class of art worth enjoying and learning more about.
The author tries to discuss this class of art, but, unfortunately, gets too bogged down in long, tedious discussions about regional differences --- like between the Levant and Mesopotamia, Egypt, North Africa, and Central Asia. As a result, he actually weakens the notion of Islamic civilization as having its own unique art and architecture -- by this and by excessive rumination about the extents to which Islamic art is actually more derivative of the preceding cultures subjugated by Muslim conquests.
Also, not helping as much as I'd hoped, are the illustrations in the back of the book. The diagrams of mosques and palaces are not labeled clearly so it was difficult relating the points being discussed about their design and features to them. Also, pictures of the art are disappointingly all colorless -- in black and white--- really missing the brilliance and dazzle I've seen of Islamic art in other books and in art museums.
The book is an academic work, perhaps intended for a collegiate and scholarly audience. As I've seen in other such works, perhaps for fear of being taken down by other peer subject matter experts, the author never really makes definitive statements -- in this case --- about what exactly is "Islamic art". but couches his statements in inchoate speculations and debates that weaken the book. What makes Islamic art distinctive? What are its defining characteristics? While I am certainly no art critic, I do feel from what little I know as an amateur, that, in Islamic civilization, in general, from Spain to Central Asia, there are, at least, some common factors --- while, granted that in over 1,400 years of Islam, there are, no doubt, exceptions to all of them.
From the book, it would seem that in the Islamic world, unlike in the West, there's a paucity of artistic personalities. By that, I do not mean that it had no great artists --- only that we know nothing about the artists themselves who painted, crafted, and built these great works of art and architecture. In the West, in contrast, there the Michelangelos, Da Vincis, Rembrandts, Goyas, Bruneschellis, etc --- each with the artists' distinctive style -- and we can know their life story and relate how it may have influenced their work. None of that seems to be the case in the Islamic world.
That being the case that story of Islam's great artists are lost evidently to history, I think it would have been a nice touch if the author had thought to include today's Muslim artists' and craftsmens' views on Islamic art --- instead of Western scholars'. Being a highly traditional culture, no doubt, their skills and conventions they have today were passed down from generation to generation, perhaps similar in some ways to how Orthodox Christian iconography is. I would have enjoyed seeing their insights on how their art and their faith and culture relate to each other.
This book would probably function well enough as a text book for art majors and art history majors in becoming acquainted with Islamic art, but I do think that, for a broader audience, more color illustrations and firmer, definitive statements on Islamic art would have made it better.
August 15, 2021
Fine, richly-illustrated study on a collection of medieval islamic art works in Al-Andalus, North Africa, Near and Middle-East.
Some interesting details concerning:
The basilical plan, put to use in mosques,
How Islam underwent transformations as the caliphates expanded over densely populated areas with their own traditions,
How Islam relates to the arts,
and
The specificities of the islamic art, in particular the arabesque and the rules regarding the drawing/chiselling of human figures (in secular places only)
-----------------------
Une synthèse bien illustrée des manifestations de l'art islamique médiéval, en Al Andalous, au Maghreb, au Proche-Orient et au Moyen-Orient.
Some interesting details concerning:
The basilical plan, put to use in mosques,
How Islam underwent transformations as the caliphates expanded over densely populated areas with their own traditions,
How Islam relates to the arts,
and
The specificities of the islamic art, in particular the arabesque and the rules regarding the drawing/chiselling of human figures (in secular places only)
-----------------------
Une synthèse bien illustrée des manifestations de l'art islamique médiéval, en Al Andalous, au Maghreb, au Proche-Orient et au Moyen-Orient.
December 17, 2014
İslam Sanatının Oluşumu,
The Formation of Islamic Art.
Oleg Grabar, (Yale, 1973).
Oleg Grabar (November 3, 1929 – January 8, 2011).
Çeviri : Nuran Yavuz.
Kitapta İncelenen Yerler, Eserler;
-Kudüs, Kubbet-üs-Sahra,
-Kudüs, Aksa Camii,
-Bağdat,
-Mekke, Mescid-i Haram,
-Şam, Emeviye Camii,
-Medine, Peygamberin Evi,
-Kurtuba, Camii,
-Samarra, Ulu Camii,
-Samarra Cevsak-ul Hakani sarayı,
-Kahire, İbni Tulun Camii,
-Kahire, Elhakim Camii,
-Kayrevan, Camii,
-Damgaan, Camii,
-Hırbetül Mefcer,
-Hirbet Minye,
-Kuseyr Amra,
-Kasrül Hayr'el Garbi,
-Kasrül Hayr'el Şarki,
-Mşatta,
-Ugaydır,
-Nişapur,
-Buhara, İsmail Samanî türbesi,
-Tim, Arap Ata Türbesi,
-Kahire Fatımi türbeleri.
The Formation of Islamic Art.
Oleg Grabar, (Yale, 1973).
Oleg Grabar (November 3, 1929 – January 8, 2011).
Çeviri : Nuran Yavuz.
Kitapta İncelenen Yerler, Eserler;
-Kudüs, Kubbet-üs-Sahra,
-Kudüs, Aksa Camii,
-Bağdat,
-Mekke, Mescid-i Haram,
-Şam, Emeviye Camii,
-Medine, Peygamberin Evi,
-Kurtuba, Camii,
-Samarra, Ulu Camii,
-Samarra Cevsak-ul Hakani sarayı,
-Kahire, İbni Tulun Camii,
-Kahire, Elhakim Camii,
-Kayrevan, Camii,
-Damgaan, Camii,
-Hırbetül Mefcer,
-Hirbet Minye,
-Kuseyr Amra,
-Kasrül Hayr'el Garbi,
-Kasrül Hayr'el Şarki,
-Mşatta,
-Ugaydır,
-Nişapur,
-Buhara, İsmail Samanî türbesi,
-Tim, Arap Ata Türbesi,
-Kahire Fatımi türbeleri.
October 13, 2025
It is very informative for the early Islam period, not only on art but also for historical records.
Read
February 24, 2013FALSE
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews