Art: Political or Religious? *

A.    Introduction Paragraph: Hubristic tendencies are often believed to be immoral and offensive. However, can they be useful? In the Byzantine Empire, placing Jesus Christ on the back of a coin that also contained their ruler was not considered offensive. Instead, it was a political tactic. Here rises the question: should art be political or strictly religious, such as the Qur’an in Islamic civilizations? The Islamic civilizations and Byzantine Empire were both heavily dependent on their art. The Byzantine Empire used works of art to promote their political beliefs, while the Islamic civilizations used calligraphy in their art to worship their god, Allah.

B.   Body Paragraph One: Byzantine Empire

a.       Topic Sentence: In the Byzantine Empire, which was the successor of the Roman Empire until Justinian’s rule, most of the art supported politics.

                                                               i.      Propaganda through Art

1.       Justinian and Theodora mosaic

a.       The political advantages of having huge mosaics their beliefs were massive. Using these mosaics (obvious, eye-catching, powerful works of art), Justinian emphasized the power behind the emperor as a leader, as opposed to using art to exclusively worship Jesus Christ.

                                                               i.      Primary Source

                                        

1.       Paraphrase One: This gold Byzantine coin includes an image of Jesus on one side, holding a Gospel, and the emperor Justinian II on the reverse side. Justinian is dressed in regal robes and holding a cross. There are markings on both sides of the coin, of what looks to be writing or letters of the alphabet.  Justinian as a ruler was rather cruel, but effective in many ways. He was the first to use the image of Jesus Christ, proving to be pioneer in political development. According to the Archaeological Museum in Istanbul, the idea of using an image of Jesus was so ground-breaking because “with so much traditionally imperial land under the sway of the Muslims, it was considered an effective PR tool.” This “PR” tactic was necessary because the Byzantine Empire’s main focus was spreading the religion and the ideas of Christianity. These coins would circulate throughout the entire world, therefore exposing and introducing more and more people to Christianity, as Justinian II hoped. Furthermore, Justinian’s choice in placing himself on the opposite side of Jesus shows his hubristic nature, or the belief that one is equal to or better than a god.

2.       Concluding Sentence: Using this gold coin and the Justinian and Theodora mosaic, we can conclude that the Byzantine Empire used most of its art to advocate its political principles.

1   C. Body Paragraph Two: Islamic Civilizations

a.       Topic Sentence: The Islamic civilizations used artistic calligraphy to respect the authority of Allah as the all-powerful god.

                                                               i.      Muslims frowned upon icons or drawings of Allah

1.  Believed Allah should be worshipped directly

2. Only Allah can create living things

a. Qur’an

                                                               i.      Primary Source

                                      

1.      Paraphrase Two:  This image is an excerpt from a folio of the Koran from the 9^th-10^th century. The verse is from the end of the second sura (chapter) of the Koran, known as al-Buqara (The Cow). It is a sheaf of yellowed parchment, with thick, black letters. There are red dots around most of the letters, and there is a gold medallion in the bottom left corner of the writing.  Arabic is read from right to left, with an alphabet of twenty-six letters, of which three are long vowels. Short vowels are indicated by small symbols above or under the letters themselves. The red dots on this excerpt are the indicators of short vowels. According to the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Art, the early Koran’s shape “responds to the natural flow of kufic script that calls for long, horizontal strokes”. This would explain why the writing was long, and read left to right. Finally, the medallion in the bottom left corner indicates that this passage is its own section of text. 

a.       Calligraphy

                                                                                                                        i.      Used to beautify writings, both from the Qur’an and elsewhere (used in mosques, palaces, homes, and businesses)

                                                                                                                        ii.      Primarily, exclusively from the Islamic world

                                                                                                                        iii.  “the Arabic script was continuously refined and imaginatively embellished to become the most recognizable and ubiquitous symbol of Islam”

Concluding Sentence: Using calligraphy, the Islamic civilizations expressed their respect for Allah as the sole figure of authority and leadership through their art.

MLA Citations

Yalman, S.. N.p.. Web. 15 Dec 2013. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/abba/hd_abba htm>.

Hunt, P.. N.p.. Web. 17 Dec 2013. <http://traumwerk.stanford.edu/philolog/2006/01/byzantine_art_as_propaganda_ju.html>.

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Art, . N.p.. Web. 18 Dec 2013.<http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/islamic/calligraphy1.htm>.

Brooks, S.. N.p.. Web. 18 Dec 2013. <http://www.colostate.edu/orgs/MSA/find_more/islart.html>.

Arkenberg, J.. N.p.. Web. 17 Dec 2013. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/byza/hd_byza.htm>.

Siddiqui, E.. N.p.. Web. 18 Dec 2013. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/byzantium/>.