Calligraphy in the Islamic World

Introduction

The use of writing as an art is one of the most distinctive elements of Islamic art. Arabic is the language of the Qur'anic revelation in Islam. This language is spreading rapidly throughout the Islamic world during the Muslim conquest. The writing does the same, since very early, the Quran is copied, and the writing becomes a major means of dissemination of the divine message. If the language is a liturgical tool, communication and transmission of knowledge, writing thus has the same time, three functions: religious, commercial and ornamental. The writing varies with the nature and destination of print and media.

Folio from the Blue Koran behind the library of the Great Mosque of Kairouan (in Tunisia), written in Kufi gold on vellum dyed with the indigo, it dates from the tenth century. The writing is compact, is devoid of diacritical marks for vowels and the letters are not dotted. Some blue pages of the Koran are currently kept at the Museum of Islamic Art at Raqqada in Tunisia. There are many calligraphic styles, divided into two broad categories: Kufic, the angular characters, which came early with writing the first Korans Hijazi and developed, both in Iran and Egypt in cursive, characters loose. These two types vary widely, depending on the country and when they are employed. These include, for example, the angular calligraphy, the Kufic woven, where the stems are mixed, or the animated Kufic, whose letters end with human faces and animals.

Description and Analysis

Among the many areas of Islamic Art, calligraphy is the most popular. This art was developed only after the Arabs wrote the sacred text of the Koran. The basis of calligraphy nourishes the spiritual source - derived from above, through the "altered consciousness" of the Prophet information. Immediately after, the Koran was merged into the book; many enumerators were trained specially for the best expression of revelation and spirituality. Initially, the full text of the Koran has been rewritten in the treated animal skins reed pen, the page at the same time took the form of a rectangle with a long base, and only since the tenth century in the eastern part of the Islamic world began to rewrite the Koran on the pages with the usual form. In conjunction with the utmost importance that Islam gave to science, literature and art of writing has become a thoroughly distinctive portion of art. Once world-famous painter Picasso saw the work of a master calligrapher was unable to restrain the emotions and exclaimed: "This is art!" He witnessed a genuine aesthetic - Islamic calligraphy (Watson, 90).

It is based on six styles, known as Aklami Sitte Seskalem or developed in the XIII century in the city of Baghdad known calligrapher Yakut. This style is Sulus, Nesih, Muhakkak, Reyani, Tevki and Rick. However, Islamic calligraphy has its own rules, developed and introduced during the reign of Fatih Sheikh Hamdulla Amaziyskim. Other styles of Islamic calligraphy are - Kufi, Rik'a, Diwani, Siakat.

Today the art of calligraphy held a ...