Medieval Islamic Painting (U01096)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : ACE-4-HMedIslam

The course surveys Islamic painting between c.700 and c.1500, dealing with mosaics, frescoes, pottery and - principally - the arts of the book. It is roughly divided between the Arab and the Persian worlds, and will clarify the distinctiveness of each - a matter of urgent relevance in today's Middle East. It will tackle among other topics the interplay between Islamic and classical (including Byzantine) art; the development of the sacred book (the Qur'an) by means of various scripts and types of illumination; the vexed question of Islamic iconoclasm; the role of pottery as a vehicle for courtly and popular figural art; the evolution of the frontispiece in book illustration; and the infiltration of ideas from other cultures, notably Europe and China, into Islamic painting. Islamic book painting was essentially a private art produced for wealthy patrons, and the implications of this finding will be discussed in detail. Students will become acquainted with some of the texts most commonly chosen for illustration, such as the Assemblies of al-Hariri, the Quintet of Nizami and the Shahnama ("Book of Kings") of Firdausi. This will lead naturally to the consideration of the interplay between text and image, as well as the development of iconographic cycles and narrative techniques. Religious themes will also be explored. The course will conclude with an investigation of how the so-called "classical style" in Persian painting came into being.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : A pass in either History of Art 2 or Architectural History 2a and 2b

? Prohibited combinations : This course is not available to students on the BA Humanities and Social Science degree.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

History of Art, (School of Arts, Culture and Environment, Schedule A)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 4th year

? Delivery Period : Not being delivered

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 11 weeks

? Additional Class Information : Seminars will take place on Tuesdays 1400-1550 and 1610-1800. Students will attend one of these.

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

The course has several aims. It will teach students, building on their earlier experience of art history, to use specific works of art as a means of understanding the society that produced them, and to fit them into a basic theoretical and chronological framework. The tutorials are fully intended to be challenging; much of the subject matter taught in them has been chosen deliberately because there is not an extensive secondary literature about them, so that students will be put on their mettle to find interesting things to say about them. This will of course foster originality, imagination, lateral thinking and intellectual independence. The tutorials are also intended to strengthen and extend test other skills which students have been developing in earlier years: visual analysis and interpretation, debate, presenting an argument clearly and concisely, mastering a body of specialist information in a limited time and being prepared to answer questions about it, acquiring a healthy scepticism about the printed word, learning to weigh opposing arguments and make a rational judgment between them, problem-solving, teamwork and holding one's own in group discussion. These skills are eminently transferable to the workplace.