The Islamic Art of Calligraphy

The premier form of Islamic Art is calligraphy, which is derived from the French word calligraphie and Greek word kalligraphia, meaning "beautiful handwriting." One of the main reasons that the calligraphy is given a pedestal status in Islam is the Muslim belief that Allah (SWT) used the Arabic language to narrate his divine message to the Prophet Muhammad in the form of Holy Quran. This makes it sacred for Muslims all over the world.

Secondly, Islamic Art cannot be depicted by the use of pictures; therefore, using words as creativity avoids this problem as well. With the invention of the printing press in European countries, the art of calligraphic writing mostly vanished.

The prohibition of picture images spurred Calligraphy in the Muslim world to new heights. It is used to enhance the aesthetic senses in architecture, decorative arts, coins, jewelry, textiles, weapons, tools, paintings, and manuscripts. Thus Calligraphy has been embedded in each and every aspect of the Islamic society.

Calligraphy - The Beautiful Art

The art of making beautiful and elegant handwriting is called Calligraphy which requires skilled penmanship.

The literal meaning of the word calligraphy is beautiful writing. Books were written in calligraphy up until the invention of printing machines. Using quill and ink the handwriting was written onto materials like parchment or vellum. There are three main styles of calligraphy which are prevailing now. Arabic, Chinese – known as oriental style and Western or Roman are most popular modern calligraphy styles.

The range of calligraphy includes simple hand lettering to fine art pieces where the expression of the handwritten mark may take precedence over the legibility of the letters. Typography should not be confused with calligraphy.

Calligraphy Fonts

Calligraphy fonts have undergone a colorful evolution throughout the centuries. Their development has been shaped by history itself.

Early writing was done on wood or stone, thus the fonts were angular. As man became more sophisticated and developed cities, the fonts also changed to have softer edges to adjust to the papyrus being used. When Rome fell, academic centers were concentrated in Western Europe. Afterwards, the Dark Ages settled in; art and creativity seemed to have died, so did developments of calligraphy fonts. After the Dark Ages, with the rise of the Roman Catholic Church to power, the formal and elaborate font styles emerged. This font features the architectural designs of the Middle Ages. These fonts are known as "Gothic." Until printing mechanism disrupted handcrafting of prints, Gothic was the popular choice for fonts. When literacy was brought down to the level of common townsfolk, the demand for less complex fonts increased. This plea for practicality gave birth to informal Gothic variants used in manually printed publications and documents.

As printing became more readily available, hand-lettering was designated to artists. The rest of the population wrote in cursives for their regular correspondences. Elaborate calligraphy, however, was still used for its decorative purpose in several formal documents--maps and invitations, for example. The complex calligraphy carried with it a sense of elegance and formality suited for high-level affairs and audiences.

Samples of the different calligraphy fonts are now housed in museums. But software programmers have found a way to copy those font styles. So if you are feeling a little fancy, or when you are looking for an element that would bring a touch of elegance into your formal invitation or correspondence, you may want to check out the suppliers of these software programs. You are bound to find just the right one for your needs.

Japanese Calligraphy

The ancient art of Japanese calligraphy is captured today in numerous pieces of artwork. Some are used as home or office decor; others are becoming popular gift items. Others are even used as tattoo images.

"Shodo," a Japanese term for calligraphy that means the way of writing is taught to children at very young ages in schools. Adults practice it as a hobby. Getting started on learning the art of Japanese calligraphy may require you to complete a set consisting of six elements. One is a black, soft mat that provides a comfortable, soft surface where you will sit. It is called a Shitajiki. The next is a Bunchin, a metal stick used as weight for the paper during writing. Another is the Hanshi, or a special, thin calligraphy paper. Of course, you will need a brush or what they call the Fude.

There are two kinds of Fude. There is the large brush to write main characters with and a smaller one to write the artist's name; although sometimes artists use the smaller ones to draw the characters, too. The next element is the Suzuri, a heavy black crucible holding the ink. The last one is the Sumi or a solid black material that when rubbed in water produces the black ink used for writing. This is for the more traditional calligraphers. For the rest, commercially available ink will serve the same purpose.

Japanese characters are drawn using one of the three styles: the square style called Kaisho; the semi-cursive Gyosho; and the cursive Sosho. The last two styles are faster to execute than the more traditional Kaisho.

Writing calligraphy is art in itself, and there are many collectors who host exhibits and auctions of Japanese calligraphy art prints. Most feature classic words of wisdom. They are usually framed in wood.

Digital Islamic Calligraphic Models

Calligraphy is the art of beautiful penmanship or handwriting. Calligraphy has been popular in western, Arabic and Chinese / oriental domains. Within Islamic culture, Islamic Calligraphy has usually involved the beautiful penmanship of Quranic verses. Muslims from all over the world have produced Islamic artists that have produced quality Islamic calligraphic works.

The following profiles Islamic calligraphic works of Ricardo Panizza who has produced various digital Islamic calligraphic models.

Picture of Islamic Calligraphy Art

Picture of Islamic Calligraphy Art

Luxury Islamic Calligraphy Wallpaper

Islamic Calligraphy Wallpaper

Islamic Calligraphy Wallpaper

Islamic Calligraphy Art Design-Animals Calligraphy

Although in my opinion (the author) animal-shaped Islamic calligraphy is a classic design calligraphy, calligraphy art form but was still interested in animals. Among them there are in the form of tigers, birds, elephants, horses, and fish. Here are examples of calligraphy animals ever published on the internet:

Arabic Calligraphy Picture

In a previous post someone well spoted that I was playing with "Arabic" numbers, which are in fact Indian numbers (the circle means 5 and the dots are zeros.) It's the Westeners who use Arabic numbers such as: 1,2,3.

I'm fascinated by the look of the Arabic script. It's out of this world. If Spielberg would have invented a writing for a new planet it may have been similar in looks to the Arabic script.

I think Arabic calligraphy is a form of art that has superseeded any other culture in its category. It's highly complex and has many layers of meaning.

I won't to go into details. You start doing that here if you wish. Allow me to just touch upon the subject and show you a few interesting examples.

This style is my personal favorite because I'm an animal lover. It's called zoomorphic calligraphy and some believe it's developed because of the restriction of illustrating living beings according to muslim traditions.

The example below is a highly popular style where carefully layed out miniature text makes up a bigger sentence. Both the small and big text are related and usually verses from the Koran.

The one below showcases an ancient manuscript from Iraq. Note that in those times using black and red inks to write was a must. Later the red dots were replaced with other symbols that need not to be red.

Finally let me show you a modern script that can be found on contemporary buildings. This example below is a piece from a long text that goes all around the House of Koran. Note the geometric simplicity of the script.

Latin font types seriously influence the contemporary Arabic typography. As you can see below sometimes latin fonts are mimiced to create similar looks.

Arabic script and arabesque design is largely ignored outside the Middle East. Unlike many other languages that are used extensively as design elements even in the West, Arabic didn't enter the mainstream culture. Japanese characters are all over girls as tattoos and t-shirts designs for example. Have you seen anybody with an Arab script tattoo?

I think the main reason Arabic calligraphy didn't penetrate the pop culture is because it's very closely associated with religion and the usage of these styles may be a sensitive issue.

Excuse my shallow views, but I think this is unfortunate, because Arabic calligraphy has a beautiful texture, which can be appreciated even if you don't read the text. I fully understand however that for muslims the script means so much more than just pretty design. The Koran and the style of the text is holy and there is no room for reinterpreting these visual elements.

Unique Italic Calligraphy

Unique Italic Calligraphy

Modern Calligraphy Letterpress Wedding Invitation

With the Modern Calligraphy letterpress wedding invitation, we had to ask ourselves: is modern calligraphy an oxymoron? Or is it brilliant? Beautiful? Head-turning? Perfect? You can guess which side we're on. Available in five jaw-dropping styles. In addition to letterpress invitations, this design has available reply cards, reply postcards, direction cards, reception cards, letterpress thank you cards, letterpress wedding programs, invitation envelopes, escort cards, place cards, menus, coasters, envelope linings, and anything you can dream up. All our wedding invitations are letterpress printed with love on our antique presses in upstate New York. Here at Bella Figura, we practice environmental printing techniques; we believe in eco-friendly letterpress; and we embrace progressive green business practices. This modern calligraphy wedding invitation can be fully customized to suit whatever styles and colors and moods are in your heart. The Modern Calligraphy design is also perfect for letterpress Bar Mitzvah invitations, Bat Mitzvah invitations, or any sophisticated celebration.

Style of Japanese Calligraphy

• Kaisho

  Kaisho literally means “correct writing”. In other words, this is the style in which each of the strokes is made in a deliberate and clear way, creating a form that is very similar to the printed version of the character that one might see in a newspaper.
  This is the form that students of calligraphy study first, since it is close to the everyday written characters they are already familiar with, but at the same time it gives them the opportunity to get used to using the brush (fude) correctly.

  Below you can see the character for “dream” written in kaisho style on the left, and on the right as written using a word processor. Notice how similar they are in form.

  
• Gyousho

  Gyousho literally means “traveling writing” and refers to the semi-cursive style of Japanese calligraphy. Like cursive handwriting in English, this is the style that most people will usually use to write with when taking notes. Furthermore, as with English cursive style, what are written as separate strokes in kaisho style flow together to form a more rounded whole in gyousho. Text written in this style is can usually be read by the majority of educated Japanese.

  The same character is written in gyousho below with the printed version for comparison once more. Notice how it is more flowing and artistic.

  
• Sousho

  Sousho means “grass writing” and refers to the flowing cursive style of calligraphy. Here, form supersedes readability as the calligraphy artist rarely allows her brush to leave the paper, resulting in a graceful, swooping shapes. Only those trained in shodou are usually able to read this type of script.

  Notice how the shape of the character is now almost completely unrecognizable as the same kanji in print on the right. It is now more a stylized work of art than a vehicle for conveying information.

  

Beauttyful Arabic Calligraphy

arabic calligraphy

free arabic calligraphy

arab calligraphy