A widespread misconception of Islamic civilization is that it has given up figural imagery, because the religion of Islam bans any form of representation of a living being. While human and animal figures are indeed absent from mosques, Quranic manuscripts, and religious art- in general, they are the hallmark of the arts of the palace, the object, and manuscript illumination in Islam. By contrast in the religious arts, Arabic writing replaced the figural image as the sublime icon of sanctity. The course shall explore the evolution of the image and the attitudes towards figural representation in Islam from the beginnings, through Arabic and Persian illuminated manuscripts, and the late Persian portrait, to conclude with the annihilation /exaltation of image in modern Islam.

It is strongly recommended that in Semester A, the students shall take as a background for the present course, the course "General Introduction to the Art of the Islamic People".