Islamic art and why it uses patterns
Islamic Studies · Key Stage 1 · The School
Three kinds of decoration
Islamic art uses three main kinds: GEOMETRY — shapes repeating with great precision; ARABESQUE — flowing plant and leaf designs; and CALLIGRAPHY — beautiful writing, usually of Quranic verses. You will find all three on one mosque wall, one tile, or one page.
Why patterns
Muslim tradition has generally avoided pictures of God, and many artists also avoided pictures of people and animals in religious spaces. Rather than leaving walls plain, artists developed pattern and writing to an extraordinary level. So the pattern is not a restriction showing — it is what grew in that space.
Where to see it
Look at a mosque near you, or pictures of the Alhambra in Spain, the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, or the tilework of Isfahan. Notice how a pattern repeats and often has no clear beginning or end. Many patterns are built from a circle divided into equal parts, which is why they feel so exact.
Look at photographs of any historic mosque and find all three. GEOMETRY: interlocking stars and polygons, built from circles with a compass. ARABESQUE: flowing plant forms, curling and repeating. CALLIGRAPHY: verses written as art, often round a dome or above a doorway. Now count the pictures of people or animals: usually none. Three rich traditions, developed further here than almost anywhere.