Have you ever been to an art gallery or museum? If you have not, you need to go because it is fascinating! A great deal of the art you will see has evolved from the style of Muslims in the golden age. This type of art and design made an enormous impact on today’s art and architecture. Calligraphy and arabesque were two forms of art developed in the golden age, and are still very well-known for inspiring artists to this day! Let’s start from the beginning of these discoveries. In the years after 800, Muslim culture entered a golden age. Muslim society was at its peak during this time because the Abbasids, a group of Muslim people, became very wealthy from their prosperous trade center, fertile land, and flourishing industry in Baghdad. This booming economy made the Abbasids very wealthy. Since some of the Abbasids wanted to show off their wealth, they decided to invest in the arts and learning. Calligraphy is the art of fine handwriting and was considered the highest form of decoration. The instrument to make calligraphy is the qalam, which is a pen made of dried reed or bamboo. During the golden age, many Muslim artists learned calligraphy since the Abbasids hired calligraphers to decorate buildings, swords, armor, tiles, coins, …show more content…
Arabesque decorated everything from small objects (metal boxes, ceramic bowls, tiles), to carpets, wood and walls. Arabesque was a significant and commonly used design because most Muslims thought it was wrong to use the human form in art. Religious leaders believed that using the human form in art would take people's attention away from their faith, and that people might be encouraged to worship these images, rather than God. This is why Muslim art emphasized plant life and geometric patterns. The use of geometry in Islamic art was an expression of the idea that unity and order exists everywhere at all