Between "Calligraphy" and the "Art of Calligraphy"

Arabic Calligraphy

When we talk about Arabic calligraphy, we mean the beautiful Arabic script, in which the calligrapher faithfully followed the rules established by the masters of calligraphy. For different styles of calligraphy, rules of measurement and outline have been established. Anyone with certain skills in the subject could be a competent calligrapher once they have mastered the said rules.

There have always been professional calligraphers whose job was to copy written works in a beautiful, clear or even perfect way.

Art of Arabic Calligraphy

But when we talk about “the art of Arabic calligraphy”, we enter a completely different domain than that of the calligrapher.

This means that we enter the universe of art with all its essential characteristics of imaginative expression, individuality, creativity, aesthetic standards and creative freedom.

Here we are confronted with the vision of an artist coupled with the skill of a calligrapher.

It is well known that Islam prohibits “imitation” and figurative likeness while at the same time it does not prohibit, but encourages, artistic expression.

It encourages the Muslim to be beautiful within himself, to express beauty and to appreciate it.

To reconcile these two attitudes, the Muslim artist had to find a medium in which, without contradicting his personal feelings or his creative imagination, respects religious rules.

The Muslim artist then turned to painting plants and flowers, geometric lines, etc. However, the medium that best met his needs was undoubtedly Arabic calligraphy itself.

The calligrapher began to produce calligraphic designs in which he imaginatively and creatively developed a whole artistic universe, taking advantage of the peculiarities of Arabic letters which, regarding shapes, can be divided into two main groups: perpendicular and horizontal.

Artistic calligraphy does not deviate from the basic rules of letter formatting, but clearly emphasizes the contrast between perpendicular and horizontal shapes, between shadow and light, between signs and meaning and between the visible and the illegible.