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The Judaism, Christian, and Islamic religions have its own approach to art and architecture. These religions distinctive styles were influenced by political and spiritual upheavals In society, the environs, and the consciousness of the Inhabitants. Their expression of Inner feelings and beliefs lead to the creation of sacred monumental structures and beautiful art In which people can reflect and gain inspiration from the delve. The Judaism, Charlatanry, and Islam diverse traditions and theologies offer an illuminating insight into their notions of the sacker and profanes. Jewish
Jewish art and its development is acutely intertwined with Christian art due to its profound connections to each other. Although Judaism and Christianity are similar and different in many respects, the Jewish religion is a far older faith. In referring to the Jewish theological notion of sacker and profanes, they believe that God is non- figurative, they worship in synagogues, and their religious text is the five books of Moses the Torah, and the Ten Commandments are the foundation of their laws. The synagogues equates to the Temple of Jerusalem, as religious houses where the Jews reactive their faith.
Their cultural, social, and religious belief continues through their art and architecture. According to Soles, “Jewish art Is an art of symbols to convey a relationship to the sacker- (Soles, L 10). The Durra-Europe (c. 239 AD. ) synagogue artwork is significant because they are the most all-encompassing and extensive figural representation of early Jewish art history to survive. Representations of God do not appear in the Jewish context due to the Second Commandment; however, the use of symbols in their depictions exemplifies their faith as they illustrated episodes room the Hebrew Bible.
The Durra-Europe western wall mural paintings depict tremendous figurative imagery. Soles indicated that there Is an emphasis on the themes of redemption and salvation connotative in the area above the Torah niche. The central Image is a schematic representation of the front doors of the Temple of Jerusalem that In the future will be rebuilt, to the right Is Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac, but In the end Is saved, and to the left are the seven-branch candelabra (Soles, L 10).
The Image of the seven-branch candelabra depicted throughout Jewish art story is a symbol of salvation and redemption due to the conviction that the world was created in seven days and the law of keeping the seventh day a holy day. The number seven is important because it represents “completion and perfection” (Soles, L 10). Another image on the wall of Durra-Europe is a continuous narration depicting the Life of Moses. There are two large representations of Moses in the center, one is turning to part the Red Sea that destroys the Egyptians, and the other is of him leading the Israelites to the sea.
These mural scenes emphasizes the Jewish people’s event with God and sends a message that they are the chosen people of Israel. In the middle ages, there was a change in attitude towards the Jewish community in various parts of the world. There were not able to profess their religion architecturally with outward displays that denote their religious affiliation Like the Christians and the Muslims could, so they glorified and sanctified their faith Inside the synagogues. Soles stated that the Jewish community were not interested in religious houses (L 14).
The Gothic style Latten Synagogue in Prague built in between he 12th and the 13th century displays its artistic and cultural distinction from other religions. Inside there is a pair of columns sustaining the roof with the central element the bimbo, which is a raised platform where the reading of the Torah occurs. The seating arrangement goes around the bimbo facing forward towards the Aaron (holy arch) in a semi horseshoe. Both the bimbo and the Aaron are raised above the Jewish congregating implying their close relationship with God (Soles, L 14).
On the ceiling there are five ribs installed to avoid having a cruciform, to not emulate Christianity. Another feature in synagogues is the parakeet (Torah curtain). The early 17th Coupled-column Ottoman parakeet is a blending of Jewish symbolizes with Islamic influences. There is a pair of columns alluding to the Temple of Jerusalem and a Miramar opening. The central image is the goblet with nine lamps hanging from it. In Judaism, the number nine is associated with perfection and the cycles of birth and rebirth as this number mirrors the relationship between God and humanity (soles, ALL).
Christian As the Western Empire declined and finally collapse in 476, cultural and political dervish shifted to the Eastern Empire. The development of Byzantine art was the result of religious and diplomatic strife between the east and west. Justinian I (c. 482-565) was the ruler of the east and under his governance, Constantinople became the artistic capital of the Empire. The Haggis Sophia (532-37 A. D) is the earliest example on an epic scale of the basic feature of Byzantine architecture as a surviving monument in Justinian reign.
The interior of the church has an aesthetic quality that is magnificent in appearance and reinforces the theme of redemption and lavational along with sacker and profanes in a new reality (Soles, Al 1). The central feature of the Church of Holy Wisdom is the nave that is crowned by the dome. The dome rests on four arches and has an array of windows, which acts as the eyes. According to Soles, the numerous windows act as windows to the soul that connects the Empire to the heavens (Soles, Al 1). The arches are broken up into smaller arches, with semicircular apses, and arcades with ornamental details in the molding and the capitals.
Furthermore, the lighting in this church played a key role attributed to he rows of windows that gives the illusion that the dome is floating. The Haggis Sophia represented God on a grand scale that left the people feeling exulted and in awe. In the 1 lath and the 12th century, there is a continuation of sacker and profanes demonstrated in the constructions of churches in Western Europe. Piety was on the rise and a lot of the populace went on religious pilgrimages to express their devotion of the Roman Catholic faith. This period was also the birth of Romanesque architecture.
Architects utilized Roman antiquity to develop their churches with Christian themes. The SST. Sermon De Toulouse church in Toulouse, France, marks a geographical point for a religious pilgrimage. The architectural shape is that of a cruciform that invokes the crucifixion of Christ as well as the Chi-RYO is symbolizing the victory over death. In the middle of the 12th century, a new architectural style replaced the Romanesque design known as Gothic. In France, Abbot Surer and state. Because of this, Gothic style religious houses became the dominant public worship site in the early medieval period.
The Nave of Chartres Cathedral is the epitome of Gothic style. There is a greater sense of light and openness compared to Romanesque. In the interior, the arches come together at points called gives giving the entire cathedral a “sense of heaven-forwardness” (Soles, Al 2). Gothic churches have many large windows and flying buttresses on the outside of the church, connecting to the main structure. The South transept rose window from the Chartres Cathedral has a central stained glass depiction of Jesus surrounded by twelve apostles.
This culls, also has below its five images representing the five wounds of Christ with the images of the four Hebrew biblical prophets. The Gothic architectural style and the stained glass illustrations convey a message of spirituality and majesty between humanity and divinity. Islam In the 7th century, the religion known as Islam took root in the Middle East by its founder and prophet, Muhammad. In the course of his lifetime and 30 years after his death in 632 A. D. , this religion spread to Africa, Spain, and Asia. It also converted many places of worship into mosques like the Haggis Sophia in 1453.
The practitioners f this faith became Muslim which means “submitter” or “committee” to the will of God or in Arabic, Allah. The Curran became the secular textural foundation for the Islamic religion. With their faith basis, Muslims continued the sacker and profanes in their architecture and art. In Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock (c. 687-691) monument is the earliest Islamic building to survive. According to legend, Muhammad was taken by the angel Gabriel on a mi ‘raja (spiritual Journey) to experience both heaven and hell, which made it a sacred site (Soles, Al 3).
The golden dome itself is one highest mint in Jerusalem as it rests on an octagonal structure, which rest on a square base. The dome symbolizes heaven and it mirrors the one on the Haggis Sophia. The squared platform echoes the four directions of profane and profanes, between an earthbound and the spiritual reality. The octagonal, a combination of a square and a circle represents the eight-pointed star, which also reinforces the ideal of heaven and earth is Joined in abstract terms (Soles, L 13). Outside this structure, there is a dynamic contrast between geometric, rectilinear, and curvilinear elements in a series f abstractions and colors.
The colorful beauty with its detailed abstract designs, motifs, religious significance, and the distinctive structural design became the foundation of Islamic art and architecture for Muslims throughout the world. Another feature in Islamic architecture is the Miramar (niche) in the cabala wall to indicate the direction of Mecca. According to the Curran, Muslims must kneel and pray before Allah five times a day towards the holy land therefore, this Miramar served as geographical orientation. Muslims usually have mass prayer in all parts of the oral; therefore, in Islam everyone is equal in their faith.
This equality is reinforced on an architectural and a spiritual level because both the Christian and Jewish religions have an ecclesiastical court, Muslims pray directly to Allah without any clergy, thus in a way are more self-conscious with their relationship to God. There is a great deal of borrowing, emulation, and transformation in the Jewish, relationship with God through art and architecture. The constant sacker and profanes theme in all the religions, rested on the conviction of salvation and the hope of eternal life in paradise.