In northwest Saudi Arabia, the artistic heritage of the AlUla oasis is literally carved into the landscape. From the enigmatic rock art of the Neolithic era, through the colossal statues of the Dadanite and Lihyanite kingdoms, to the monumental architecture of the Nabataeans, AlUla was already steeped in artistic tradition when a new and distinctive art form began to emerge—Islamic art. After the founding of Islam in 610 CE, the religion spread rapidly, and, in time, became associated with a recognizable style of artistic expression. Because of Islam’s Arabic roots, its art has often been associated with Arabia. The reality is far more complex: Islamic art drew little on Arabic artistic traditions.
The Islamic faith is a way of life: Religion touches almost every aspect of the daily experience, as well as the life journey. As such, Islam comes with a strong, unique, and unifying cultural identity that is reflected in its art. Islamic art encompasses much more than pieces created explicitly for religious purposes, such as an illuminated Quran or an intricately carved minbar in a mosque, it is the art of Muslim people everywhere. Any work created by a Muslim or for a Muslim over the 1,400 years of Islam’s existence falls under this classification, and the geographical and historical range of Islamic art is huge—and instantly identifiable.
Arabic art has evolved over the centuries and taken on distinctive nuances across the globe, but it is still highly relevant and instantly recognizable, as evident in the Design Space AlUla. This modern cultural hub celebrates the works of local and other designers and architects, while creating spaces for ongoing learning, exchange, and creative expression as well.
Photograph by Nicholas Jackson
Initially, artistic expression was not fundamental to Islam: Art is not directly mentioned in the Quran or early religious texts. As the faith spread, conquered lands continued their own indigenous artistic traditions. However, as a unified Islamic state emerged under the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, a distinctly Islamic form of art was also emerging. But by this time, Islam had also moved far beyond its Arabian roots, and had embraced an array of cultural influences.
The reality is that Islamic art is different wherever it is found, displaying regional nuances and reflecting evolving tastes. However, for all its extraordinary diversity, there are four broad artistic themes that transcend place and time to be consciously recognizable as Islamic: Vegetative patterns, geometric patterns, figurative art, and calligraphy have long been consistently employed by Islamic artists to form a cultural cohesion across ethnically diverse followers of Islam. These four forms of artistic expression are found wherever Islam is practiced, and all have powerful stories behind them.
Intertwining plants, stems, leaves, and flowers are found on objects throughout the Islamic world—but foliage patterns like these were not new. Such designs pre-date Islam, and are present in the cultures of ancient Byzantium and Sasanian Iran, where early Islam firmly established itself. This local artistic tradition was adopted, adapted, and developed by Islamic artists, and their experimentations spread through Muslim lands. By the 12th century, a highly abstract and distinctive style of Islamic foliage patterns had emerged. Found in architecture, textiles, and every form of object, this style came to be known as “arabesque.” These arabesque patterns were neither specifically Arabian nor religiously symbolic, but they remain a unifying feature of Islamic art.
A matrix of intertwining stems, leaves, and flowers form a striking pattern in this colorful example of arabesque art. The use of plant imagery predates Islam, but it was adapted and developed into this distinctive style by Muslim artisans in the first century.
Photograph from Adobe Stock
Another instantly recognizable style of Islamic art is the geometric pattern: These abstract designs, often formed using circles, squares, stars, and polygons, can be linked to Islamic interest in mathematics and science. But again, while such patterns reached their peak through Islamic art, they were originally adapted from the classical traditions of Greece, Rome, and Sasanian Iran. Building on these traditions, Islamic artists elaborated and built on simple forms like circles―duplicating, overlapping, interlacing, and combining them into complex and intricate patterns that stress symmetry, balance, proportion, and order, while also offering the possibility of infinite expansion. Little wonder, then, that this is one of the most prolific forms of Islamic art in the world.
The abstract designs of geometric art are driven by mathematics and science. Often based on circles, squares, stars, and polygons, complex combinations create striking symmetrical designs that can be repeated ad infinitum.
Photograph from Adobe Stock
Perhaps the most misunderstood influence on the emergence of Islamic art was that of figurative representation—depictions of humans and animals. Initially, figures continued to be widely used for decoration as they had been for centuries before Islam. But around the eighth century, the use of figurative forms in religious works was expressly forbidden by Islam, based on the belief that God alone could create living forms. This aligned with Christian thinking at the time, and both religions actively eradicated the human form from their religious art. However, figurative representation in secular art continued. Perhaps in deference to the religious prohibition, Islamic artists often stylized their figures, creating a great variety of figural designs. Though conspicuously rare in sculpture, stylized figures were integral to books, where miniature paintings supported the text for both aesthetic and practical reasons—providing a visual aid for those who could not read.
The written word itself channels one of Islamic art’s most distinctive and distinguished forms of expression—calligraphy. And it is here that we find a profound connection to Islam’s origins in Arabia: The Quran was written in Arabic, and the Arabic script had a particular propensity for being written decoratively, which was eagerly cultivated by Islamic artists. During the seventh century, Kufic emerged as the preferred script for the Quran, and became the dominant calligraphy style. Named after the city of Kufa, located in now modern-day Iraq, this style has a geometric elegance that combines aesthetic beauty with a form and spacing that makes it demanding to read, serving to slow the reader down to concentrate on the word of God. Many forms of Kufic calligraphy emerged through the centuries, but the earliest example records the death of a caliph in 644 CE—and is engraved on a rock in AlUla.
It is with calligraphy, like this example carved into the very fabric of a building, that we find a deep connection with Arabia. The Arabic script used for the transmission of the Quran was well suited to artistic adaptation, and artists experimented and perfected ways to balance aesthetic beauty with legibility.
Photograph from Adobe stock
Today, Islamic art is still being carved into the landscape of AlUla. In 2022, Desert X AlUla brought together acclaimed international artists to create monumental works amid the red sandstone canyons of the desert. The temporary exhibition included a piece by Saudi artist Dana Awartani—“Where the Dwellers Lay.” The concave structure, a homage to the ancient Nabataean tombs of Hegra, draws on Islamic art’s reliance on geometric design. Indeed, Awartani’s works often revolve around the highly codified and symbolically laden language of geometry. With works like these, the Islamic artistic tradition continues to thrive, embedded in a landscape that has hosted art for millennia.
Journey through time to discover the rich history of AlUla here.
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