Quick detour to see Eastern Arts at the Louvre Museum
Arts from the east
The Louvre is a world-class art museum.
And to have a historic collection with universal appeal means showing artwork from all cultures.
One of the most beloved of these is the Arabesque decorative arts.
Islamic arts department at the Louvre
What Is Islamic Art?
If you’ve visited the Louvre Abu Dhabi, you’ve no doubt seen the in-depth curation and Islamic art expertise that the Louvre staff brings to the table.
The incredible works you can see from the Islamic world at the Louvre in Paris are frequently the most enjoyable for visitors. With so much gorgeous art spanning so much history in the tradition, it’s easy to see why.
Islamic art refers to work created both for the worship of the Muslim faith and that created in Muslim cultures and/or by Muslim artists.
The rise of Islam in the Middle East not only brought with it a new religion, but also a new way of organizing society. This created unique cultural conditions, giving rise to art forms, techniques, and styles never before seen.
Because of the breakthroughs in science and the humanities during the Islamic Golden Age (8th century to the 14th century), there were many artistic inventions that first appeared in this field. That gives Islamic art a long history of development, further adding to their intrigue and splendor.
Preparations
If you want a guided tour of the Louvre focused on the world of Islamic art, you’ve come to the right place. We create special tours with experts who can shed light on the historical and artistic context of the work you see. So contact us today and start planning your ultimate Louvre tour!
But before you get your plane tickets, let’s do a deep dive on Islamic art at the Louvre. We’ll find out what are the essential features of this work and what makes it so special in world history. We’ll even take a peek at some examples pulled directly from the collection.
The history behind the art works
The beginnings
Islamic art initially borrowed heavily from Greco-Roman, Byzantine, and Sasanian influences.
And due to the wide geographic spread of Islam over time, more and more influences came to be represented. But eventually, certain tell-tale characteristics did begin to emerge.
One of the most striking is the intricate detail in surface decoration. These frequently use plant forms combined with motifs of calligraphy and abstract geometrical patterns. In painting, pottery, textiles, and architecture, artists have explored these features extensively.
Figurative work featuring depictions of humans and animals does exist in Islamic art.
However, many areas where the religion and culture spread consider this a form of idolatry, and so there has been a consistent push in many areas to focus on the abstract (though, contrary to popular belief, depicting humans and animals is not explicitly prohibited in the Quran).
For this reason, Islamic art is one of the earliest examples of an extensive, well developed sense of abstract art.
The caligraphy
Another major influence it has had is on the beautification of writing as an art unto itself. Due to Islam’s focus on the written word — both in holy scripture and in its pursuit of a unified code of laws and extensive literature — calligraphy has been an important element of visual art. Much of modern, international graphic design is essentially rooted in this field.
Why do we love this Art?
From the dizzying beauty of arabesque designs to the stunning grandeur of mosque architecture, Islamic art has provided the world with one of the most prosperous flowerings of creative expression.
One of its strengths is the wide diversity of influences combined with the unifying cultural, philosophical, and religious guidance of Islam. After its rapid spread around the globe, the religion has become one of the largest in human history. In only a century, Islam expanded from the Arabian peninsula all the way to the Atlantic Ocean and Central Asia.
This has brought together a wide range of people into discussion. And in art, this is particularly true. The spread of Islam made the Arabian peninsula a key crossroads of civilization, a place where creatives synthesized a tremendous amount of cultures into a unified artistic vision.
The resulting balance between eclecticism and unity has created some of the most beautiful works ever witnessed in architecture, the decorative arts, and fine arts. These achievements have captured the imagination of countless generations in the West and East.
The Influence of Oriental Art on Europe
While Islamic art on its own is a deep well of masterpieces, it has also been an enormous influence on the rest of the world. It has helped to inspire new movements that have changed art history in several continents.
This is especially true for the Italian Renaissance masters like Leonardo da Vinci. The polymath was inspired by the Arabic intellectuals he read. These were people who pursued science, engineering, architecture, art, and philosophy. Leonardo took this as an example of how to live.
From the Islamic world’s scientists, he learned the latest insights in optics, the behavior of light, and the perception of light and shadows. This study allowed him to gain a greater understanding of how human anatomy turned light into images — useful both for understanding human sight as well as how to paint more realistic work.
Leonardo was especially inspired by Ibn al-Haytham, the father of modern optics. This influence is shared by the likes of Galileo Galilei, René Descartes, and Johannes Kepler.
a mix of cultures, Arts, and Science
The technological innovations of Islamic art also had direct impacts on ceramics, textiles, architecture, photography, metalworking, music, and more.
Aesthetically, Islamic art changed the decorative arts in the West completely. It also provided a basis for abstract artists in the 20th century to draw from, as well as an inspiring example of creative vegetal forms that would help develop the Art Nouveau movement.
The Louvre’s Islamic Art Collection
While there are countless items in the "Arts de l’Islam" section of the Louvre, we only have space to go into a couple of Works:
- Poetic Joust’ Panel
- Baptistère de Saint Louis
These only glimpse the full range of the collection, but they stand as truly great works that demand to be seen in person.
Poetic Joust’ Panel
This work is made out of 63 ceramic tiles — a wall feature that was once presented in a palace. It originated in the 17th century, in what is modern day Iran, and it has since traveled the world to live at the Louvre where it continues to delight visitors to this day.
The panel depicts a scene in an extravagantly rendered garden, where one poet composes his verses and another reads them aloud, with two standing to the sides as an audience. It is no doubt a joust using words — like a centuries old rap battle.
During the Louvre by night, the colors are extraordinarily vibrant: allowing the design to overawe the viewer with its exquisiteness, much like a lovingly tended, royal garden would. The textiles that the four characters wear continue the flowery imagery. If you squint, you can see that the entire surface of the panel is really a chance for blossoms to be shown in all their magnificence. Here, the natural world is interwoven with human enjoyment, expressing an effortless joy of being on earth.
The subject matter also gives us insight into the cultural values of language and the power of the word. This is a “joust” where the combatants are using their writing, recalling the old adage about the pen, the sword, and which of the two is mightier.
Baptistère de Saint Louis
This 14th century masterpiece was created by Muhammad ibn al-Zayn, a coppersmith who hammered and engraved the vessel before inlaying brass, gold, and silver on the surface in intricate patterns.
Though it is a stunning work, we don’t really know what it was originally made for:
It first appears in the historical record as part of a church inventory in France, far from the Levant where it was created.
It was later used as a baptismal font for successors to the throne — the highest honor the French could give a vessel.
For this reason, it unites the two worlds of France to the West and the Islamic lands to the East.
A hidden Masterpiece
The exterior contains four medallions and four bands featuring twenty-four characters, including four on horseback. The illustrated scenes are complex and evocative of a narrative. The images continue on the inside as well.
When you see it in person, the fine details are absolutely breathtaking. It is an unbelievable work of subtlety and mastery, exalted through the use of precious materials. It really is a vessel fit to baptize a future king.
Visit the Louvre with a tour guide
Do you want to see all the incredible Islamic art waiting for you at the Louvre?
Contact Flora with a simple email, and we can begin creating your special tour of this French museum with a global perspective.
The expansive collection of work gives you endless artifacts and art to see and discuss, all with the guidance of an expert who can tell you all you need to know. This is the best way to see Islamic art at the Louvre.
more works from the East
