Both articles require subscription
Toward a clear vision of ‘Islamic’ art
‘Islamic’ culture: a groundless myth
Related
Claim: Europe’s great cathedrals owe much to muslim craftsmen.
The claim that Europe's great cathedrals owe much to Muslim craftsmen is historically accurate and well-supported by architectural evidence, historical records, and recent research. Architectural historians, such as Diana Darke in her books Stealing from the Saracens and Islamesque, demonstrate that crucial engineering features and master stonemasons from the Islamic world fundamentally shaped Romanesque and Gothic architecture. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Core Architectural Features Derived from Islam
Many of the definitive elements seen in iconic Christian cathedrals were originally invented, tested, or perfected in the Islamic world: [5, 6, 7]
- The Pointed Arch: Essential to Gothic height. It was used in the 7th-century Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and Cairo's Ibn Tulun Mosque centuries before appearing in Europe via trade routes. [5, 6, 8]
- Ribbed Vaulting: The intersecting stone ribs supporting heavy ceilings were developed to mathematical perfection in Islamic Spain (the Cordoba Mezquita) over a century before being adopted in French and English cathedrals. [4, 9]
- Trefoil and Multifoil Arches: Decorative, multi-lobed archways prominent in European religious monuments were directly inspired by early Umayyad and Abbasid architectural styles. [5, 10]
The Migrant Craftsmen and Mathematical Mastery
Medieval European builders initially lacked the complex knowledge of geometry and engineering required to raise massive stone structures. [9, 11]
- Mudéjar Builders: Following the Reconquista in Spain, free Muslim craftsmen (Mudéjares) were highly sought after by Christian kings and bishops for their superior stone-carving and carpentry skills. They brought these styles north into France and along pilgrim routes. [12, 13, 14]
- Norman-Arab Syncretism: When the Normans conquered Islamic Sicily, they kept and employed Muslim architects and bricklayers to build monuments like the Grand Cathedral of Palermo and the Cappella Palatina, fusing Islamic and Byzantine techniques. [15]
- Physical Evidence: Arab footprints remain embedded in the structures themselves. For instance, a dendrochronology study at Salisbury Cathedral discovered Arabic numerals used as assembly marks on roof timbers, while Le Puy Cathedral in France features Arabic calligraphic inscriptions on its doors. [16, 17]
But Souren Melikian, for one, disputes there is Islamic art.
Souren Melikian is entirely correct in his critique, but his argument actually reinforces—rather than refutes—how Muslim craftsmen influenced European architecture.
In his famous New York Times essays, Melikian argues that "Islamic art" as a single monolithic category does not exist. Instead, he asserts that this label is a Western colonial invention that unthinkingly lumps vastly different cultures together under the banner of religion. [1, 2]
Melikian's Core Arguments
Melikian claims that dividing art by religion creates an artificial barrier because:
- Cultural Diversity Over Religion: The artistic traditions of the Arab world, Ottoman Turkey, Mughal India, and the Iranian world are completely distinct from one another. A Persian manuscript and a Moroccan tile share very few aesthetic or regional traits, making a single "Islamic" label meaningless. [1, 2, 3, 4]
- Secular vs. Religious: True "Islamic" art would strictly be text-based items meant for faith, such as copies of the Quran. Most objects categorized as Islamic art were secular luxury items made for palaces, trade, or everyday use.[5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
- Absence of Sacred Architecture Fusions: Unlike Christian art, which revolves around physical imagery of Christ and the saints, Islam's strict stance against idolatry means there is no uniform "sacred art" style that spans these empires. [6, 10, 11, 12, 13]
How This Aligns with European Cathedrals
Melikian’s point is that art should be classified by its regional schools of craftsmanship and engineering, not by religion. When architectural historians state that European cathedrals owe much to "Muslim craftsmen," they are describing the exact regional mastery Melikian highlights. [14]
- Not "Islamic Art," but Syrian & Spanish Engineering: The pointed arches and ribbed vaulting adopted by Europe did not emerge from a religious text; they were engineered by Syrian, Egyptian, and Andalusian master builders. [7, 15]
- Trans-Cultural Craftsmen: The builders who influenced Europe were operating within regional trade guilds. A Christian King in Spain or a Norman King in Sicily hired these craftsmen for their specific mathematical, geometric, and masonry techniques, completely independent of their faith. [16]
By dismantling the umbrella term "Islamic art," Melikian forces us to appreciate the specific, diverse cultures—such as the Fatimids, Umayyads, and Persians—whose advanced engineering directly shaped the medieval Western world. [2, 16, 17, 18, 19]
We look deeper into specific cathedrals like Notre-Dame or Durham Cathedral to see exactly which parts feature Islamic engineering.
Looking closely at Notre-Dame de Paris and Durham Cathedral reveals exactly where Western builders abandoned heavy, dark Romanesque designs and adopted sophisticated structural and decorative methods developed by Eastern craftsmen. [1]
Architectural historian Diana Darke explicitly traces these specific structural evolutions in her research on how Islamic architecture shaped Europe. [2, 3]
1. Notre-Dame de Paris: The Gothic Perfection
Completed in the 12th and 13th centuries, Notre-Dame represents the peak of Gothic design, which is fundamentally built on Saracen structural mathematics. [1, 4, 5]
- The Pointed Arches of the Nave Arcade: Roman arches were perfectly semi-circular, which distributed weight outward and required massive, windowless walls. The pointed arches lining Notre-Dame's central nave channel weight more vertically. This specific geometry was used in the 7th-century Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and the 9th-century Ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo centuries before European builders adopted it. [6, 7, 8]
- The Twin-Towered West Facade: The iconic silhouette of Notre-Dame’s front entrance—two massive square towers flanking a central, recessed doorway—mirrors the design layout of 5th-to-6th-century Syrian churches like Qalb Lozeh. This structural framing was heavily preserved and adapted across Umayyad territory before entering France via trade and returning Crusaders. [1, 3, 9, 10, 11]
- The Great Rose Windows: The geometric framework of Notre-Dame's north, south, and west rose windows relies on complex intersecting circles. This design framework perfectly matches the stone and plaster open-work window geometry found in early Umayyad palaces, such as the 8th-century Khirbat al-Mafjar in the West Bank. [12]
2. Durham Cathedral: The Norman Milestone
Begun in 1093, Durham Cathedral in England is famous for bridging the gap between heavy Anglo-Norman Romanesque and lighter Gothic engineering. [13, 14]
- The First High Ribbed Vaults: Durham features the first stone ribbed vault ever built over a major nave in Western architecture (completed around 1130). Instead of a solid, heavy concrete ceiling, a framework of stone "ribs" supports a thin stone skin. This exact engineering method was pioneered to mathematical perfection in Islamic Spain, specifically in the multi-domed ceilings of the Great Mosque of Córdoba (completed 987). [6, 15, 16, 17, 18]
- Interlacing Wall Arcades: Walk down the ground floor side aisles of Durham and you will see decorative stone arches crossing over one another. These interlacing wall arcades create a repeating sequence of unintended pointed frames. This layout is a direct structural copy of the famous superimposed, intersecting multi-foil arches used in the Aljafería Palace in Zaragoza and the Córdoba Mezquita. [14, 15, 16, 19, 20]
- Linear Geometric Pier Carvings: Durham's giant cylindrical stone pillars are famous for deep, repeating geometric patterns—specifically chevrons, zigzags, and lozenges. These heavy linear carvings were entirely unknown in traditional Roman or European architecture up to that point. They were directly inspired by North African and Islamic Spanish geometric stonemasonry. [14, 20, 21]
References for part 1
[4] https://mei.edu
[12] https://mei.edu
[14] https://mronline.org
References for part 2
Comments