Middle Eastern art

Middle Eastern art • VISUAL LITERACY • COMM-105-005 • Ana Santos, Chevelle Reppert, Philip Scranage, Andrew Richards 1

Napoleon takes Egypt World War I Orhan Osman captures Bursa Centralization Process (postal roads, etc) War with Venice Domination of Southeastern Europe and Middle East Economic Difficulty: Sea travel allows British and Dutch to avoid trade routes through Middle East Population growth Nomadic Osman tribe brings down Christian Byzantine empire Decline of Ottoman empire 1300 1922 1402 1488 1566 1807 2

Geography The Ottoman empire was focused around Anatolia (Turkey). At its largest, the Ottoman family controlled the vast majority of the center of the known world. 3

ART AND ARCHITECTURE • Arabesque • art motif characterized by repeating geometric forms and fancifully combined patterns; look like plants and animals • Drew inspiration from religion, are not allowed to draw human shapes or representations • Style developed from Roman, Early Christian, and Byzantine art • symbolize the infinite nature of the creation of the one God (Allah) 4

ART AND ARCHITECTURE • Mosques • most characteristic monuments of Ottoman architecture • Style also appears in Topkapı Saray, the huge palace complex in Istanbul • Hagia Sofia 5

ART AND ARCHITECTURE 6

CLOTHING • Simple patterns • High quality cloth, linen and high-end wool • Full-coverage • Caftans of lighter weight materials were worn closer to the body, with the heavier fabrics being the outer layers • Apart from the quality and cost of the fabrics, there was little difference in the styles or articles of dress between rich and poor, nor between those of Muslims and non-Muslims 7

CLOTHING • Men wore an enormous white turban wrapped over a red cap with a high crown that projected above the turban. Blue and black caps are also sometimes seen in period illustrations. • At no time would a woman ever have appeared in public without her head covered 8

CLOTHING • Caskir (Underpants) and Gonlek (undershirt) (both); light fabric • Sirwal (Punjabi pants) (both); silk • Hirka/Dolama (Jacket) (women); silk • Kaftan (Coat) (both); medium or heavy fabric; all natural fibers except cotton • Surkaftan (overcoat) (men); silk 9

CLOTHING 12

Proportion • Islam forbid creation of images of people or animals • Other cultures of the Ottoman Empire used images of people • Used miniature figures to avoid offending the religious • Miniature figures in book illustrations are representative of Turkish art 13

Line • Arabic writing is highly artistic and beautiful • calligraphy = art • “"The weak servant Kayun ibn cAbdallah, the sinful, the one in need of God's mercy, founded this blessed mosque. It was built in the year 1000” 14

Geometric form • Much of Ottoman architecture was highly geometric • The dome was especially popular for mosques. 15

Pattern • Repetitive geometric and plant forms • Flowers were very popular Ottoman motifs 16

Color • The main colors of Islam and the Ottoman Empire each represented an element • red = fire • yellow = air • green = water • blue = earth • The color blue is a color of protection (therefore its common use on mosques) • Green is the color of Islam because it was the color of Muhammed’s tribe and is worn by those in Paradise 17

MODERN DAY REFERENCES 18

WORKS CITED • http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/otto1/hd_otto1.htm • http://www.theottomans.org/english/art_culture/arc_turkey.asp • http://www.scribd.com/doc/2900/Overview-of-Ottoman-Clothing-in-SCA-Period 19

Middle Eastern art