Beauty and Islam: Aesthetics in Islamic Art and Architecture

By: Valerie Gonzalez

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Synopsis: This illustrated volume of five essays explores aspects of aesthetics in classical Islamic thought in the light of contemporary theories, offering new perspectives on Islamic art and architecture with examples ranging from the Qur'an and the Alhambra to the works of present day artists and philosophers. Tracing the roots of Islamic aesthetics back to the works of the great philosophers of the Middle Ages such as Avicenna and Averroes, Gonzalez finds that aesthetic theory in Islam must be seen within the much wider context of parallel thinking on theology, ethics, physics and metaphysics. She balances her analysis of this philosophy (moral, logical and scientific) of beauty with the equally important analysis of the perceptual experience of beauty. Her study covers the breadth and depth of the experience, understanding and formulation of beauty as it has been seen through Islamic eyes.