Analyzing 2D art in global Islamic traditions - AP Art History

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Question

Ornate calligraphy and designs featuring words and letters are stylistic features of art from __________.

Answer

In the Quran, images of all kinds are proscribed, as they are too close to idolatry and attempting to act like God. As such, many Islamic artists focused on geometric shapes and calligraphy in their art. Over time, Islamic art began to be highly ornate and developed around these non-representational images.

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Question

165px-Bichitr_-_Jahangir_Preferring_a_Sufi_Shaikh_to_Kings,_from_the_St.Petersburg_album-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

In Bichitr’s watercolor painting Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings, the artist expresses the emperor’s supremacy over all aspects of Mughal life—both secular and sacred—in which of the following ways?

Answer

Jahangir is shown as dominant because of his position in the painting-- superior to the artist and rulers from Turkey and England. He passes the Koran to an important Muslim Holy Man, Shaikh Husain, who takes it with reverence. His position at the center of the sun and moon, ringed in a halo of light, and seated atop an hourglass, which symbolizes time, emphasize his eternal importance.

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Question

Which of the following is typically associated with Islamic art?

Answer

Arabesques, which combine plants and geometric patterns in graceful designs, are a primary feature of Islamic art. Depictions of animals or people are forbidden in sacred buildings. A "lunette" is a semicircle at the end of a cross in early Christian art.

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Question

Bahram gur kills the wolf 1336.jpg blog

The work of art shown here was initially part of an illuminated manuscript of ___________________.

Answer

The work of art shown here, Bahram Gur fights the Karg, was originally placed in a lengthy illustrated manuscript of the Persian epic poem the Shahnama. Recounting and greatly embellishing the deeds and actions of the real Persian kings from ancient history to the present. This image depicts Bahram Gur, a Persian Sasanian King of the fifth century, fighting a legendary beast, the Karg, also known as a horned wolf, adding to his legend and depiction.

Work is in the public domain, image accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Demotte\_Shahname\_002.jpg

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