MyHumanitiesStudio Exercises


1			Early Islamic Art and Architecture (pp. 114-116) Art > Texture > Pattern > Half-Drop http://www.mhhe.com/HumanitiesStudio/1/1/3/3/3.html Early Muslims generally believed that creating images of the natural world, particularly the human form, was a blasphemous act by which the artist presumed to mimic the divine act of creation. As a result, Islamic artists directed their energies toward non-representational patterns. Consider the mihrab from the Iranian mosque presented in the textbook (Fig. 4.20). What are the systems and the modules that create the patterns on the mihrab? How did Islamic architects incorporate patterns into holy sites (see Figs. 4.21 and 4.22)? What might be the theological significance of these patterns? What do these patterns suggest about Islamic views of the universe and of God? How does Islamic artwork compare to that of early Germans (see Chapter 5)?




2			Byzantine Art and Architecture (pp. 105-108) Architecture > Proportion > Scale http://www.mhhe.com/HumanitiesStudio/2/4/2.html Renaissance architects constructed buildings on a human scale. Based on the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls and the Hagia Sophia (Figs. 4.10 and 4.11), did early Christian architects do the same? What function did scale seem to serve at these holy sites? What does the scale of these buildings suggest about early Christian views of the universe, humankind, and God? How do these views compare with those of contemporary Muslims?