Art of Islam: Language and Meaning [Hardcover]

Titus Burckhardt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1983

Known as an expert on Islam, Sufism, and Islamic arts & crafts, Burckhardt presents in-depth analyses of seminal examples of Islamic architecture, from Spain and Morocco to Persia and India. He examines Koranic calligraphy and illumination, arabesque, carpets and rugs, Persian miniatures, and much more while making illuminating comparisons with Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist art. Beautifully illustrated in color, this masterpiece is presented in a revised, commemorative edition containing 285 new illustrations and a new Introduction.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[This is] the definitive work on Islamic art as far as the meaning and spiritual significance of this art are concerned.... Burckhardt brings together a lifetime of outward and inward experience to produce a peerless work, one in which Islamic art is at last revealed to be what it really is, namely the earthly crystallization of the spirit of the Islamic revelation as well as a reflection of the heavenly realities on earth.” --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 204 pages
• Publisher: Book Sales (January 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0905035003
• ISBN-13: 978-0905035000
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 9.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,214,423 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

TITUS BURCKHARDT, a German Swiss, was born in Florence in 1908 and died in Lausanne in 1984. An eminent member of the perennialist school, he is perhaps best known to the general public as an art historian. He won much acclaim for producing and publishing the first successful full-scale facsimiles of the Book of Kells, a copy of which he presented to Pope Pius XII at his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo. He later acted as a specialist advisor to UNESCO, with particular reference to the preservation of the unique architectural heritage of Fez. Besides his studies in Islamic art, mysticism, and culture, such as Introduction to Sufi Doctrine, Fez: City of Islam, and Moorish Culture in Spain, his best known works are: Sacred Art in East and West, Siena: City of the Virgin, Chartres and the Birth of the Cathedral, and Alchemy: Science of the Cosmos, Science of the Soul. Two notable compendiums of his work have also been published: Mirror of the Intellect: Essays on Traditional Science and Sacred Art and The Essential Titus Burckhardt: Reflections on Sacred Art, Faiths, and Civilizations, both translated and edited by William Stoddart.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impeccable: Genesis & Spiritual Principles of Islamic Art, March 3, 1999

By 

JESPER SAMPAIO - See all my reviews

This review is from: Art of Islam: Language and Meaning (Hardcover)

Sadly enough this and several other of the author's titles can be difficult to obtain. Nevertheless, "Art of Islam" is possibly the finest book ever written on Islamic Art, not because it says all there is to be said on this vast and fascinating subject but because it says the right things in the right connections. In fact, I've never been able to understand why this and Burckhardt's "Fez, City of Islam" and "Moorish Culture in Spain" are missing from literature lists in many works on Islamic ornaments, architecture and town planning. Titus Burckhardt was a spiritual giant (if the expression be allowed) whose love for the sacred art and craft he wrote so much about was like a flame burning in perfect stillness. "Art of Islam" is a blissful and edifying experience even for readers with plenty of foreknowledge on the subject. Below is a list with some of the topics (not an index) as I found them along the reading of the book:

Genesis and history of Islamic art; Nature of sacred art; Sacraments/Liturgy/Sacred art; The propagation of Islam; Christianism versus Islam; Sufism; Ritual orientation; Structure of Christian basilicas; Mosques in general and in particular; Supersaturation and crystalization in art; Buddhist art; Migration of Asian art; Byzantine art; Idols and icons; Iconoclasm versus Aniconism; Arabesques and interlacements; Sacred numbers 5, 6, 8 and 40, the Ka'ba, Dome of the Rock, Arches, Muqarnas, Mihrabs, Minbars, Portals, Persian versus Gothic vaults; Polarity in languages; Arabic, Chinese and other languages; Book art; Arabic calligraphy; Persian miniatures; Literary style of Quran; Prayer; Pre-Islamic Arabs; Reality and painting; Functionalism; Beauty and Reality; Desintegration of Western art; Expressions of Oneness; Ternary in geometry; Qualitative form versus limiting form; Light and shadow; Magic power versus spiritual elegance; Psychological "law of imitation" among conquered peoples; Government and people; Aristocracy; Public estate; Town planning; Commercial structures; Regulation of daily life; Family life; Social classes; Knighthood and art; Quranic schools; Priesthood and Clergy; Canonization in the Islamic world; Jurisprudence; Veils, Turbants, Gold, Silk and Art of garments; Carpets; Mughal art; Nomads; Umayyads, Sassanids, Seljuks, Safavids, Timurids and Copts; Virgin Mary; Abraham; Symbolism of the loom and of the sword; Necropolises; Pilgrimage to the tombs of saints; and much, much more.

As it says on one of Amazon.com's bookmarks: "The test of literature is, I suppose, whether we ourselves live more intensely for the reading of it" [E. Drew]. Burckhardt's "Art of Islam" is definitely not a book to fail this test.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for spirituality and art libraries alike, May 8, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Art of Islam, Language and Meaning (Paperback)

Titus Burckhardt has written over 20 books on art, religion and spirituality, and his ART OF ISLAM: LANGUAGE AND MEANING is one of his best, packing in over 350 color and black and white illustrations to accompany a historic, spiritual and artistic survey of Islamic art. It was originally published in London in 1976 and appears here fully revised with new illustrations - highly recommended for spirituality and art libraries alike.

5.0 out of 5 stars super, July 15, 2011

By 

JD - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Art of Islam, Language and Meaning: Commemorative Edition (Kindle Edition)

I love the fact that a book like this was available on Kindle! Outstanding classical and a must for Islamic art lovers.