L'arte dell'Islam

by Titus Burckhardt

"Se alla domanda "cos'è l'Islam?" si rispondesse indicando semplicemente uno dei capolavori dell'arte islamica, come ad esempio la moschea di Cordoba, quella di Ibn Tûlûn al Cairo, una delle mederse di Samarcanda o anche il Taj Mahal, questa risposta, per quanto sommaria, sarebbe peraltro valida, poiché l'arte dell'Islam esprime senza equivoci quel che denomina. [...] Non è stupefacente né assurdo che la manifestazione più esteriore di una religione e di una civiltà come quelle dell'Islam rifletta a suo modo quel che vi è di più interiore in questa stessa civiltà. La sostanza dell'arte è la bellezza; la bellezza è una qualità divina e comporta in quanto tale un duplice aspetto: nel mondo essa è apparente; riveste, per così dire, le creature e le cose belle. Mentre in Dio, o in se stessa, è beatitudine inferiore; tra tutte le qualità divine che si manifestano nel mondo, la bellezza è quella che più direttamente richiama il puro Essere. Questo significa che lo studio dell'arte islamica, come di qualsiasi arte sacra, può condurre, quando viene intrapresa con una certa apertura di spirito, verso una comprensione più o meno profonda di verità spirituali che sono alla base di tutto un mondo al tempo stesso cosmico e umano. Considerata in tal modo, la 'storia dell'arte' supera il piano della storia pura e semplice, fosse solo per porre queste domande: da dove proviene la bellezza del mondo di cui stiamo parlando?" (dall'introduzione)

Genres: Islam, Art, Religion, Architecture, Art History, History

171 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published April 1, 1976

About the author

Titus Burckhardt (Ibrahim Izz al-Din after his Islamic name), a German Swiss, was born in Florence, Italy in 1908 and died in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1984.He devoted all his life to the study and exposition of the different aspects of Wisdom tradition.

He was an eminent member of the "Traditionalist School" of twentieth-century authors. He was a frequent contributor to the journal Studies in Comparative Religion along with other prominent members of the school.
Burckhardt was the scion of a patrician family of Basel. He was the great-nephew of the art-historian Jacob Burckhardt and the son of the sculptor Carl Burckhardt. Titus Burckhardt was a contemporary of Frithjof Schuon – leading exponent of traditionalist thought in the twentieth century – and the two spent their early school days together in Basel around the time of the First World War. This was the beginning of an intimate friendship and harmonious intellectual and spiritual relationship that was to last a lifetime.

Burckhardt was, as his grandfather, a connoisseur of Islamic art, architecture and civilisation. He compiled and published work from the Sufi masters: Ibn Arabi (1165–1240), Abd-al-karim Jili (1365–1424) and Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi (1760–1823).

Reviews

[Shamim Valian · Rating 3 out of 5]

برای سومین بار در طول 15 سال گذشته خوندمش... هر بار خوندنش آثار متفاوتی برام داشته. بار اول برای امتحان واحد هنر اسلامی دانشگاه خوندمش و با این که موضع داشتم برام خیلی کتاب جذابی بود. الان که تعداد زیادی از کتابهای سنت گراها رو خونده م و با مبانی حکمی نظریاتشون آشنام، جذابیت هاش یه جور دیگه ن... همچنان دارم یاد میگیرم و همچنان نفس زدن توی فضای سنت گراها برام پر از لذته

[S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

There isn't any treatise about Islam art equivalent to what Burckhardt wrote in this book. It's not some well-known vulgar treatise full of essence-emptied figures and words, that impoverishes art and squeeze it in a purely materialistic comprehension. Far than this what Burckhardt tries to explain in his essay is the power of sacred arts in enclosing different influences and synthesizing them into one "objet d'art" be it architecture, calligraphy, ornaments, rugs,... Starting by analyzing the Kaaba as the first shrine to be built on earth, Titus tries to anchor the reader in a full consciousness of the Islamic values (which are narrowly linked to the Abrahamic revelation) that gave birth to its own art. Tracking the Muslim empires history from the very beginning to the Umeyyads, and to the ottoman empire afterwards. Obviously, and this is my own personal point of view, the sacred arts 'fall' started way earlier than the fall of the Ottoman empire. The deviation I believe had been prevalent during the Umeyyads empire, and according to one of my Professors, it is particularly identified in one of the buildings of Quçair Amra, where, art instead of using the flourishing abstract art, went back to the pagan practices and drew figures(as the use of Images is prohibited in Islam, where aniconism is at its best)... A differentiation that Titus had made between Arab art and Islamic art, makes things even clearer for those still confusing the two, the latter is related to the essence of sacred art, whilst the first is let's say is a product of some sort of ethnical group. It should be known that Islam art is 'abstract' not as the contemporary artists define it, but is abstract from any figure however rich of symbols, which could be considered to some extent as a universal language pattern : Vine ornaments that are well rooted in different primordial civilizations and share the same meaning...and even common to both sedentary and nomadic peoples (The example of calligraphy and its different styles Kufic, Naskh, Ruqaa, Diwani,... as a verbal and mental arabesque)
Titus implicitly justifies that the genius of Islam was to interpellate the human kind as two distinct groups : Nomads who are dynamic, and sedentary people, who are static. Islam in its course tried to establish some sort of equilibrium between the two states, that are complementary and represent something close to the Ying-Yang principle. ( La complémentarité entre un mouvement 'spatial' centripète 'nomade' et un autre centrifuge 'sédentaire' )
There are a lot of precious explanations enfolded in these beautifully composed prose, related to poetry, calligraphy, artistic weapons, languages patterns ( Chinese as opposed to Arab), and so much more related to esoteric teachings in Islam put in practice.
The book contains not less than 300 breathtaking pictures, and more than 50 high quality figures of sections and plans.
This is without contest one of the best books I've read this year (quenched some of my curiosities), hopefully, that'll have enough time to read the rest of his works, and be back with a concise review.
Highly recommended to Arts and Architecture students.

[Joseph Lumbard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a remarkable book. I have owned it for almost 25 years. Every time that I come back to it, I am once again amazed by the author's depth of understanding.

[Wayfarer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful read on it's subject matter: Art and Islam. This book is perhaps one of those books which deserves a re-read in order to be more fully appreciated and understood. Any book which professes to discuss 'meaning' needs a more meaningful engagement whilst being read, sadly, on this particular read I was unable to devote such care and attention (perhaps this is reflected in my four-star rating). Nevertheless my 'distracted-read' enabled me to take away much; the author takes a thematic look at aspects of what he describes as "Islamic Sacred Art". Elements of this Art are discussed and then the whole is brought together and explained in the manifestation of Islamic Architecture (namely looking at key historic/landmark Mosques) and town-planning in traditional Muslim cities. Overall, I'd say a recommended read for those interested in the subject matter - for enthusiasts this is a key read in the subject-area and will undoubtedly add much depth to their understanding.

[Rima · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book 6 years ago. And I've been re-reading some passages this year.

[Kelly PT · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recomended to allthe people who wants to know about art ans Islam

[Şeyma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dec. 2024

[Sandra Sopian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saya lebih suka untuk menyebutnya sebagai alChemy, yang lainnya adalah cosmology. meskipun itu adalah termasuk sains tradisional, tetapi masih mengandung sifat-sifat ketuhanan dan aspek metafisisnya.

Dia (penulis buku ini) menjelaskan di bagian sambutan, bagaimana kajian tentang seni Islam (juga seni secara substansi, adalah begitu indah. karena mempunyai Qualitas ketuhanan) dapat menunjukan kepada sesuatu yang lebih atau sekurangnya pemahaman yang profound dari realtis spiritual yang terletak pada akar dari keseluruhan kosmik dan dunia manusia". realitas inilah yang menuntun kepada pengetahuan yang mendalam.

Eh, sebenarnya saya sedang mau nulis apa ? Lupa.

[Alvaroperezoso · Rating 2 out of 5]

It would have been a great book if he had omitted the last chapter. His "explanation" of polygamy and woman oppression by which he justifies and endorses it is too much to bear.