The Museum of the Islamic Art

The cultural gem of Qatar is The Museum of Islamic Art, located on the southern side of Doha’s Corniche on a man-made island sixty meters from the shore.

The Museum of Islamic Art is dedicated to reflect the full vitality, complexity and diversity of art in the Islamic world. It is a world-class institution, whose collections include manuscripts, ceramics, metal, glass, ivory, textiles, wood and precious stones. Collected from three continents, including countries across the Middle East, and reaching as far as Spain and India, the Museum’s artworks date from the 7th century through to the 19th century. The pieces represent the diversity found in Islamic heritage and are to be regarded of the highest quality.

The building itself is a work of art done by Ieoh Ming Pei. It reflects traditional Islamic architecture with modern aesthetics. Visitors enter through a palm tree lined walkway to the main entrance. The grand entry hall gets its light from the domed oculus at the top. The treasures from the permanent collection are exhibited on two floors of galleries that encircle the atrium.

The galleries feature dark grey porphyry stone and Louro Faya, a Brazilian lacewood that was brushed and treated to create a metallic appearance, which contrast with the light-colored stonework of the rest of the Museum.

Under the leadership of Sheikha Al Mayassa Bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Chairman of the Qatar Museum Authority, the Museum of Islamic Art is the masterpiece of the transforming of Qatar into a cultural capital of the Middle East.

The inspiration of the genius Ieoh Ming Pei

Ieoh Ming Pei, the son of a banker, was born in Canton in 1917. He came to the United States to study in 1935. and matriculated at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in architectural engineering. In the 40´s Pei studied in Harvard, in the Graduate School of Design, being strongly influenced by Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer and their ideas about clean and flat surfaces.

His first professional experience was with the celebrated city planner/developer William Zeckendorf, for whom he designed large scale public housing projects in North America. In 1955 he founded his own firm, now called Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. Nowadays Pei is considered one of the most prolific architects of our times, having made more than fifty buildings all over the World. This veteran architect has incorporated both eastern and western ideas into his designs.

Among the numerous awards won by Pei there are the Pritzker Architecture prize in 1983 and the architects’ Gold Medal of the American Institute in 1979. He has got several honorary degrees from the most important universities in the World as Doctor of Human Letters, Doctor of Laws and Doctor of Fine Arts.

The Museum of Islamic Arts is considered by Ieoh Ming Pei as one of the most difficult jobs he has ever undertaken. The reason is simple: How to shown in one single building the essence of Islamic architecture when this culture is so diverse, ranging from Spain to the gates of China?

The task of finding a building that represents the pinnacle of Islamic architecture seemed impossible. Pei considered the Grand Mosque in Córdoba (Spain), the Jama Masjid, one of the largest mosques in India, and the Umayyad Great Mosque in Damascus. With the ribat fortresses at Monastir and Sousse, in Tunez, Pei felt that he was coming closer to the essence of Islam. At least, Ieoh Ming Pei found the perfect expression for Islamic building in the Mosque of Ahmad Ibn Tulun in Cairo, derived from its austerity and simplicity. It was this essence what Pei attempted to bring forth in the desert sun of Doha. It is the light of the desert that transforms the architecture into a play on light and shadow.

Palaces and Courts of The Alhambra

Palace of the Lions               
When Mohammed V succeeded his father Yusuf I, he did more than just finishing the alterations that his father had started. He actually started building what would become his great work of art, the marvellous legacy he left us in the Alhambra: the Palace of the Lions (Palacio de los Leones). This palace comprised the private chambers of the royal family and it was built in the angle formed by the Baths (Baños) and the Court of the Myrtles (Patio de los Arrayanes). 

In this palace is where Nasrid art achieved its greatest degree of magnificence. The beauty of this palace shows incomparable sensibility and harmony. Light, water, colours and exquisite decoration turn this palace into a marvellous pleasure for the senses. The abstract and geometric decoration steps back in this palace for a more naturalistic style to dominate, as the result of the Christian influence, which was even stronger due to the friendship between Mohammed V and the Christian king Pedro I.

The palace comprises a central patio surrounded by several galleries with columns in the way a Christian cloister would be. From the central patio you may access the different halls: the Hall of the Mocarabes (Sala de los Mocárabes) to the west, the Hall of the Kings (Sala de los Reyes) to the east, the Hall of the Two Sisters (Sala de Dos Hermanas), the Hall of the Ajimeces (Sala de los Ajimeces) and Daraxa's Mirador (Mirador de Daraxa) to the north and the Hall of the Abencerrajes (Sala de los Abencerrajes) and the Harem (Harén) to the south.

Comares Palace

The Comares Palace or Hall (Cuarto o Palacio de Comares) was the official residence of the king and it comprises several rooms that surrounded the Court of the Myrtles (Patio de los Arrayanes). The rooms have galleries with porticoes at the ends. Some examples are the Hall of the Boat (Sala de la Barca) to the north and the Hall of the Ambassadors (Salón de los Embajadores) inside the Comares Tower (Torre de Comares), from which a view over the valley of the river Darro may be enjoyed. 

Yusuf I wanted his official residence's decoration to amaze the visitor, so he ordered the architects to build it and adorn it in a exquisite way, although he probably did not see the final result, as several inscriptions affirm that his son Mohammed V was responsible for it. Mohammed V finished the works and constructed a façade on the southern side of the Patio of the Golden Room (Patio del Cuarto Dorado). On the façade there are two identical gates with lintels, tiles on a ceramic skirting board and plasterwork decoration. Above it are two twin windows with canted festoon and a smaller one in the middle, surrounded by inscriptions from the Koran. The whole wall is beautifully decorated with ornaments and inscriptions, including the motto «Only God is Victor». One of the poems by Ibn Zamrak is tattooed on the frieze made of carved wood, as in other parts of the Nasrid palaces. 

Court of the Myrtles

The Court of the Myrtles (Patio de los Arrayanes) has received different names throughout time. Its current name is due to the myrtle bushes that surround the central pond and the bright green colour of which contrasts with the white marble of the patio. It was also called the Patio of the Pond or the Reservoir (Patio del Estanque o de la Alberca) because of the central pond, which is 34 metres long and 7.10 meters wide. The pond divides the patio and receives its water from two fountains (one at each end of the pond). There are chambers on both sides of the patio and several porticoes on the shorter sides of it. These porticoes rest on columns with cubic capitals, which have seven semicircular arches decorated with fretwork rhombuses and inscriptions praising God. The central arch is greater than the other six and has solid scallops decorated with stylised vegetal forms and capitals of mocarabes. 

On the ends of the southern gallery are larders with kitchen shelves of mocarabes and the following legend: «May our Master Abu Abd' Allah, emir of the Muslims, receive God's help and protection as well as a glorious victory». Most inscriptions that appear in this patio are praises to God or to the emir. The chambers that existed in this portico were partly demolished in order to build the Charles V Palace (Palacio de Carlos V). On the top floor, on a corridor, there is a six-arched gallery with a higher lintel in the centre. This gallery is decorated with wooden terraced bases covered with stylised vegetal forms and latticework from the 19th century. 

As it has already been said, several chambers have disappeared, but certain signs of their existence have been found. The disappearance of these chambers has contributed to the popular belief of the legend that says that Charles V destroyed the winter palace of the Alhambra in order to build his own. However, several experts, although in disagreement about the content of these chambers, do agree on the lack of signs to determine the existence of the winter palace. 

The lateral sections were the women's residence. On the ground floor several doors connect (or used to connect) with other chambers. The patio's decoration in this gallery, except for the tile skirting board, was redone during the 19th century, copying that of the opposite portico.

On the top part of the northern gallery, behind which the Comares Tower (Torre de Comares) stood, there is a parapet with two little lateral towers, which were remade in 1890 because this gallery's and the following hall's ceiling burned. The gallery's ends have larders with arches, domes and kitchen shelves of mocarabes, on a skirting board covered with tiles from the 16th century. On the top of the skirting board there is an inscription from a poem by Ibn Zamrak in honour of Mohammed V after Algeciras was conquered in 1368.

Patio of the Lions

The Patio of the Lions (Patio de los Leones) is probably the most famous place of the Alhambra. It is so called because of the twelve lions that throw jets of water and which are part of the fountain in the middle of the patio. The big dodecagon-shaped basin rests on top of these twelve lions that are around it. This white marble fountain is one of the most important examples of Muslim sculpture. A poem by Ibn Zamrak was carved on the border of the basin. At the beginning of the 17th century another basin was added and is currently in the Garden of the Ramparts (Jardín de los Adarves), as well as the jet, which was done later, as indicated in the engraving.

This patio was built by order of Mohammed V, its ground plan is rectangular and it is surrounded by a gallery in the style of a Christian cloister. It does not follow the typical Muslim Andalusian patio style, more like the Court of the Myrtles (Patio de los Arrayanes). The gallery is supported by 124 white marble columns with fine shafts, which are decorated on the exterior side with many rings and which support cubic capitals and big abacuses, decorated with inscriptions and stylised vegetal forms. Under the wood carving frieze there are plaster arches, except for those of the pavilions and the ends of the longer sides of the galleries, which are of mocarabes, with scallops decorated with rhombus-shaped carvings. At the middle of each of the two longer sides of the patio there is a semicircular arch bigger than the rest of the arches and with archivolts of mocarabes and scallops decorated with styled vegetal forms. These arches lead to the Hall of the Abencerrajes (Sala de los Abencerrajes) and with the Hall of the Two Sisters (Sala de Dos Hermanas). The chambers where the sultan's wives lived are over the arches. At the middle of each of the shorter sides there is a pavilion, built on part of the patio. The pavilions' ground plan is square and they are covered with semispherical domes with a wooden interior. 

In the centre of the patio there was a low garden and the galleries' floor is made out of white marble. The garden went through many alterations over the years and it has now been eliminated in order to avoid the dampness it may cause. There are white marble channels, which start inside the pavilions and inside the halls of the two other sides and which get together at the central fountain forming a cross. On the ends of the channels there are jets that send water to the central fountain.

 

Characteristics of Islamic Geometric Decoration

Repetition and Illusion of Infinity 

Most patterns are derived from a grid of polygons such as equilateral triangles, squares, hexagons or octogons. The mathematical term for these grids is "regular tessellation" (deriving from the Latin tesserae, i.e., pieces of mosaic), in which one regular polygon is repeated to tile the plane.  No matter how complex or intricate a design becomes, it is still predicated on a regular grid. Most geometric ornamentation is based on the premise that every pattern can be repeated and infinitely extended into space. This means that a frame can appear to be arbitrary, simply providing a window onto a pattern that continues beyond the bounds of that frame.

Symmetry
Symmetry is created in Islamic geometric design through the repetition and mirroring of one or more basic design units, usually shapes such as circles and polygons. Although the design can be elaborated and made complex, the basic symmetrical repetition and mirroring of these shapes creates a sense of harmony.

Two-dimensionality
Most Islamic geometric design is two-dimensional. Not only is it generally applied to flat surfaces, but the patterns themselves rarely have shading or background-foreground distinction. In some instances, however, an artist will create interlocking or overlapping designs that create the illusion of depth and produce an aesthetically pleasing and visually playful composition.

Washignton Irving: The Tales of The Alhambra

This is a collection of essays, verbal sketches, and stories by Washington Irving. Irving lived at the Alhambra Palace while writing some of the material for his book. In 1828, Washington Irving traveled from Madrid, where he had been staying, to Granada, Spain. At first sight, he described it as "a most picturesque and beautiful city, situated in one of the loveliest landscapes that I have ever seen". He immediately asked the then-governor of the historic Alhambra Palace as well as the archbishop of Granada for access to the palace, which was granted because of Irving's celebrity status. Aided by a 35-year old guide named Mateo Ximenes, Irving was inspired by his experience to write Tales of the Alhambra. Throughout his trip, he filled his notebooks and journals with descriptions and observations though he did not believe his writing would ever do it justice. He wrote, "How unworthy is my scribbling of the place".  A commemorative plaque in Spanish at the Alhambra reads, "Washington Irving wrote his Tales of Alhambra in these rooms in 1829". The book was instrumental in reintroducing the Alhambra to Western audiences.

Washington Irving was a man of his time and a prototype of the Romantic writer. His preoccupations and interests led him to carry out an enormous amount of research into historic documentation, which has earned him the consideration of being the first modern Hispanist. Through his Tales of the Alhambra, he became the leading source of publicity for the Alhambra and the Generalife.

In that Romantic context of travels through Europe and the Iberian Peninsula, his Andalusian journey played specially a decisive role for him. His first and main reason for undertaking it, that of translating and later writing a biography of Christopher Columbus, soon gave way to the appeal of the rise and fall of what in the eyes of the Romantics was an exceptional civilisation, the Islamic world. He was captivated by Granada, the setting of that lost splendour.

Once in Granada, Irving perceived the city from The Alhambra, the Nasrid palace and city within a city he was given the privilege of making his residence. As convinced of its magic and enchantment as he was of the harsh reality of its dilapidated condition, he lived there and wrote of its unique inhabitants, the “sons of the Alhambra”, and felt the need to tell the world of that extraordinary monument. The great evocative power and appealing style of his Tales of the Alhambra have captivated generations of travellers. Through his writings, they have been able to imagine the past life of the Nasrid palaces and halls believing they have shared in its mysteries and legendary intrigues.

The debt owed to Irving by the Alhambra is incalculable. This tribute was born of the sincere gratitude felt by all of us who have ever dreamed of the Alhambra thanks to him.

Geometric patterns in Islamic art

One of the defining characteristics of Islamic art is its abundant use of geometric patterns to adorn a wide variety of architectural and decorative surfaces. The sources of the basic shapes and patterns used in Islamic ornamentation are rooted in the artistic traditions of the pre-Islamic Byzantine and Sasanian empires. During the early spread of Islam in the seventh and eighth centuries, artists encountered a range of patterns and designs that they adopted, abstracting and adapting them into new forms and to support new uses. Although there is little historical evidence that tells us how they worked, we know that Islamic craftsmen continued to elaborate upon these forms through the centuries, ultimately creating new abstract geometric patterns that were symmetrical, proportional, and balanced. These designs were often based on the replication and repetition of a single unit in a sequence of steps to develop the overall pattern. The works of art discussed in this unit are drawn from many regions and span the thirteenth to the seventeenth century. In spite of regional variations, the areas in which the works were produced are united by a common appreciation and taste for geometric patterns.

Islamic geometric design is unique in its elevation to a primary art form, while the earlier traditions upon which Islamic art drew also utilized geometric forms, they were often relegated to the borders or were secondary to a figural composition. Early Islamic artists often privileged the geometric over the figural, covering whole surfaces in dense geometric designs. The reason for this change in focus is not entirely clear. It may have been due in part to the new religious community's desire to distinguish itself visually from previous empires, and in part a need to respond to Islam's avoidance of figural forms in religious or public art. Scholars have suggested other explanations for this tendency, such as an intense cultural focus on textiles in Islamic lands, where covering surfaces with geometric and other types of ornament was akin to draping them in patterned textiles. It is likely that a combination of these factors led to the continuous popularity of calligraphic, geometric, and vegetal ornament in the Islamic world.

The contributions of Islamic mathematicians and other scientists were essential to the development of this unique form of ornament, and their ideas and advanced technological knowledge are reflected in the mathematical exactitude of Islamic geometric patterns. Recent research has shown that mathematicians and artisans met on a regular basis, accounting for the transmission of mathematical concepts from theory to artistic practice. This phenomenon also provides insight into the significant relationship between medium and the technology of patternmaking; the shape and medium of an object informs how the pattern will be translated from mathematical concept into artistic reality. The prevalence of geometric ornament in Islamic art thus shows the confluence of art, mathematics, philosophy, and religious thought.

The basic instruments for constructing geometric designs are a compass and a ruler, tools that generate the circle and line, upon which all such design is based. Using these two simple forms, an artist could create endless variations of patterns and motifs by repeating a single geometric unit laid out according to a basic organizing principle. The result is an overall geometric pattern that is both mathematically rooted and visually harmonious. The circle and line are also the basis for the proportional system used in Islamic calligraphy. For this reason, scholars often refer to the art of calligraphy as the "geometry of the line."

Complicated patterns are constructed from basic shapes: circles and polygons. The complex patterns found in Islamic art often include many of these shapes in a variety of spatial arrangements.

Historical introduction to The Alhambra

The Alhambra was so called because of its reddish walls (in Arabic, «qa'lat al-Hamra'» means Red Castle). It is located on top of the hill al-Sabika, on the left bank of the river Darro, to the west of the city of Granada and in front of the neighbourhoods of the Albaicin and of the Alcazaba.

The Alhambra is located on a strategic point, with a view over the whole city and the meadow (la Vega), and this fact leads to believe that other buildings were already on that site before the Muslims arrived. The complex is surrounded by ramparts and has an irregular shape. It limits with the valley of the river Darro on its northern side, with the valley of al-Sabika on its southern side and with the street Cuesta del Rey Chico on the eastern side. The Cuesta del Rey Chico is also the border between the neighbourhood of the Albaicin and the gardens of the Generalife, located on top of the Hill of the Sun (Cerro del Sol). 

The first historical documents known about the Alhambra date from the 9th century and they refer to Sawwar ben Hamdun who, in the year 889, had to seek refuge in the Alcazaba, a fortress, and had to repair it due to the civil fights that were destroying the Caliphate of Cordoba, to which Granada then belonged. This site subsequently started to be extended and populated, although not yet as much as it would be later on, because the Ziri kings established their residence on the hill of the Albaicin. 

The castle of the Alhambra was added to the city's area within the ramparts in the 9th century, which implied that the castle became a military fortress with a view over the whole city. In spite of this, it was not until the arrival of the first king of the Nasrid dynasty, Mohammed ben Al-Hamar (Mohammed I, 1238-1273), in the 13th century, that the royal residence was established in the Alhambra. This event marked the beginning of the Alhambra's most glorious period.

First of all, the old part of the Alcazaba was reinforced and the Watch Tower (Torre de la Vela) and the Keep (Torre del Homenaje) were built. Water was canalised from the river Darro, warehouses and deposits were built and the palace and the ramparts were started. These two elements were carried on by Mohammed II (1273-1302) and Mohammed III (1302-1309), who apparently also built public baths and the Mosque (Mezquita), on the site of which the current Church of Saint Mary was later built. 

Yusuf I (1333-1353) and Mohammed V (1353-1391) are responsible for most of the constructions of the Alhambra that we can still admire today. From the improvements of the Alcazaba and the palaces, to the Patio of the Lions (Patio de los Leones) and its annexed rooms, including the extension of the area within the ramparts, the Justice Gate (Puerta de la Justicia), the extension and decoration of the towers, the building of the Baths (Baños), the Comares Room (Cuarto de Comares) and the Hall of the Boat (Sala de la Barca). Hardly anything remains from what the later Nasrid Kings did. 

From the time of the Catholic Monarchs until today we must underline that Charles V ordered the demolition of a part of the complex in order to build the palace which bears his name. We must also remember the construction of the Emperor's Chambers (Habitaciones del Emperador) and the Queen's Dressing Room (Peinador de la Reina) and that from the 18th century the Alhambra was abandoned. During the French domination part of the fortress was blown up and it was not until the 19th century that the process of repairing, restoring and preserving the complex started and is still maintained nowadays.



Taracea, an Arabic influence crafts from Granada

Since the beginning of time, and more specifically the Nasrid period, Granada has been a commercial city whose crafts have always had a high reputation. Granada’s craftwork is rich and varied and its Arab influence is undeniable.

The colours, smells and tastes of Granada’s craftshops (where you can find teapots, poufs, shisha pipes, jewelry, tapestries, lamps, forged lanterns and real inlaid work or taracea) will transport visitors to ancient Andalusian times. 

Taracea is the art of inlaying wood with bones, metal or different wood combinations to form borders, geometric patterns or straight lines. The pieces must be varnished later to protect them, and is a genuine specialty from Granada, whose workshops are the only remaining of their type. There are only two other famous types of inlaid craft in Syria and Egypt.                                                                             

Escher, the artist and The Alhambra

Maurits Cornelis Escher, the famous Dutch graphic artist, well known for his features impossible constructions,  infinite architecture and tessellations, visit for two times the Spanish country.

As soon his studies were finished, Escher devotes himself to travel to complete his formation. He lives in Italy, country that fascinates him, and then he goes to Spain. The south of Europe and especially the Mediterranean turn into the destination of many of his trips as well as an inspiration for his works. The landscapes of the south will be present during all his life.

He comes for the first time to Spain in autumn of 1922. He disembarks in Tarragona and visits Barcelona, Madrid and the Prado Museum. But his trip has a clear target, the meeting with the big Islamic monuments of the south of the peninsula: the Alhambra of Granada and the Mosque of Cordova, two constructions of which he remains deeply impressed. Between April and June of 1936 he comes back to Spain along with his wife Jetta Umiker who helps him to compile an exhaustive documentation of the Islamic decorations. In this second trip he will cover the whole Mediterranean coast of the peninsula. In the first place, as in his previous trip, he visits Barcelona, to go later by ship to Valencia, Alacant, Elx, Cartagena, Almeria and Motril, and from here towards Granada, where he spends most of the time executing drawings and sketches of the Nasrid palaces. At the end of May he arrives to Cordova and draws a perspective in charcoal of the Mosque of Cordova that he dates on June the 2nd. This second visit to Spain means the starting point of the radical change of style and subject-matter in his works.

Many notes developed in these trips are still preserved; sketches drawn with pencil and chalk, in black and white and color. Escher leaves Spain in June of 1936 carrying with him innumerable sketches and loaded with ideas for his future works. He will not set foot on the red fortress again, but his later work will remain influenced by these trips, determinants for the construction of his characteristic and personal language.

The principal interest of Escher in his first trip to Granada will be the visit to the Alhambra. The exuberant deployment of forms and colors of the decoration of the nasrid palaces impressed him deeply. In this architecture he discovered repetitive forms that would be a source of inspiration, being the Islamic world revealed as the plastic target he was looking for. The second visit meant the consolidation of certain geometrical premises that he had already met in his previous trip. Especially he analyzed the geometry of the ceramic reliefs, the rhythms of the plastering and the compositional structures of the polychromed tiles. These works allowed him to discover what he would define as the regular division of the plane and the use of patterns to refill the space without leaving gaps. This find performed vital importance for his work, since it allowed him to investigate in the repetition and multiplication of the forms on the plane, as well as in the processes of transformation of the figures. In these games with the geometry it could be find the origin of a wider later investigations on the impossible spaces, the complex perspectives, the speculated images, the reversal figures, the conflict between the plane and the space and the impossible constructions.

Escher made clear that the geometric topics that he found in the decorations of the Alhambra were decisive for his later work, a question that would obsess him during all his life.

Escher took the world of tessellation to an art.                                                                             

About the Alhambra

The Alhambra is a Monumental Ensemble of Historical-Artistic Monuments created over more than six hundred years by cultures as different as The Muslim, the Renaissance or the Romantic culture. The view of the Gardens of the Alhambra, the sound of the wind blowing through the trees together with the sounds of the water, isolate us from the surrounding noise; and our visit becomes an unforgettable experience.

The Alhambra is a place that invites us to feel and reflect. It is a dynamic, lively place in which very subtle things happen. Here our senses become more sensitive. We are touched inside by the sensuality of its shapes which seem alive. And we let silence invade our soles and perceive any whisper, any footstep.

The Alhambra is a World Heritage Site, and their significance and influence upon the surroundings, has been historically recognized:

By order of the Regency of the Spanish Kingdom, 10 February 1870, confirmed by Royal Decree on 21 July 1872, and amplified by Royal Decree on 11 June 1896, the Alcazar of the Alhambra of Granada, as well as their gardens and accessory structures, are declared national-artistic monuments, and the Elvira’s Gate is declared incorporated. In the twentieth century, by Royal Decree, on 27 July 1943, the gardens of the Alhambra and the Generalife are declared Historical Gardens. And more recently, at the UNESCO Convention, which was held in Buenos Aires between 29 October and 2 November 1984, the World Heritage Committee proceeded to officially include the Alhambra and the Generalife of Granada on the World Heritage List.

The significance of this is that Spain is now part of an international commitment to carefully preserve and protect the Historical-Artistic Monuments Complex and the surrounding area. It is the responsibility of the Spanish administration and the Administrative Body of the Council of Andalusia, to see that the above mentioned commitment is sustained.



Works on paper

Comares is a series of collage created by AL HAMRA contemporary art projects with vinyl sheets coloured with enamel paint and fixed on paper (50 x 50 cm).

The Comares tower is the largest of the existing towers in the Alhambra, with a height of 45 meters. Its name comes from the stained glass windows of the balconies that illuminate the great room which occupies the interior of the tower, called "comarías". An appropriate name for a series that combines basic colours with geometric pattern of stars, that’s so characteristic of Islamic art.

NEW Exhibition: the ZILLIJ art collection

This new art collection of abstract paintings, created with oil colours on large square canvases by AL HAMRA contemporary art projects, is based on the Zellige, the traditional art and craft of Moroccan mosaics and tessellations, influenced by historical Nasrid period of ornamental and geometric decorations in the muslim Al-Andalus countries. Zillij art collection, is a tribute to its designers and craftsmen, who still today keep an old tradition full of artistic modernity.

At the same time, in AL HAMRA's own artwork there is an exploration of kinship between the geometric abstraction of Western art and the millennium-old tradition of Islamic abstraction.

(To see more exhibited paintings, click on link image of the Zillij series catalogue)

The visual language of Islamic design

The culture of the Muslim world has developed a very specific type of ornamental design, which is grounded in the religious demands of Islam. The visual language of Islamic design employs a variety of intricate geometric patterns, floral elements and ornate calligraphy, all of which are used to decorate manuscripts, textiles, furniture, buildings, etc. AL HAMRA contemporary art projects presents a diverse collection of abstract paintings, ranging from simple and elegant elements to complex and highly ornate interlocking patterns, based mainly on islamic artworks from the palaces and fortress of Alhambra (nowadays a UNESCO world heritage site), built in the Middle Ages for emirs of the Nasrid Emirate or Kingdom of Granada.