Islamic Art

About the course

The course is a guide to the history of art in various regions of the Muslim world from antiquity to the present day. Students will get acquainted with Muslim architecture of the Near and Middle East, Central Asia, India and Europe, the traditions of writing and calligraphy, the art of miniature, Muslim artistic principles and techniques for creating ceramics, jewelry, carpets, and other art objects. The course was developed jointly with the State Hermitage Museum.

The course offers to study the rich artistic traditions of the Muslim world. Listeners will study:

• Muslim architecture of the countries of the Near and Middle East, Central Asia, India and some European countries;
• the traditions of writing and calligraphy;
• the art of miniature and the diversity of its schools in the Muslim East;
• Muslim artistic principles and related techniques for creating glass, bronze, ceramics, jewelry, weapons, carpets, fabrics, etc.

The main idea or the course is to show that it is absolute faith in the indivisible God — Allah, the creator of worldly beauty, that is a reflection of heavenly beauty, Paradise — that determines the specificity of Muslim art.

This popular science and very spectacular course is designed for a wide audience. The course was developed jointly with the State Hermitage Museum and includes small interviews and master classes with the Muslim art experts.