AP Art History : Analyzing 2D art in global Islamic traditions
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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : 2 D Art In Global Islamic Traditions
Ornate calligraphy and designs featuring words and letters are stylistic features of art from __________.
Native American culture
Russian culture
Islamic culture
Sub-Saharan African culture
Islamic culture
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.
Example Question #2 : Analyzing 2 D Art In Global Islamic Traditions
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?
The painting shows no discernible European design elements, a testament to the Mughal court's distaste for Western culture and promotion of Jahangir's personal artistic tastes above all else
Jahangir is pictured as a teacher of his people, instructing them in the humanist tradition
The emperor, ringed in a halo of light and pictured at the center of the sun and moon, is seated above international rulers, the artist, and a representation of time itself
Jahangir is paying his respects to the artist, demonstrating the important court position of painters in the Mughal dynasty and emphasizing the emperor's high degree of cultural refinement and sophistication
The painting includes angels painted in a European style, symbolizing the emperor's dominance over the Judeo-Christian world
The emperor, ringed in a halo of light and pictured at the center of the sun and moon, is seated above international rulers, the artist, and a representation of time itself
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.
Example Question #2 : Analyzing 2 D Art In Global Islamic Traditions
Which of the following is typically associated with Islamic art?
Portraits of Mohammed
Patterns of plants and geometric designs
Images of desert animals
Lunettes
Patterns of plants and geometric designs
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.
Example Question #1 : 2 D Art In Global Islamic Traditions
The work of art shown here was initially part of an illuminated manuscript of ___________________.
a law code
a religious scripture
an historical record
an epic poem
an epic poem
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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