O ključnim temama islamske umjetnosti očima historije umjetnosti / On the Key Themes of Islamic Art as Seen by The History of Art

This paper examines a number of very common themes in Islamic art and relates them to its nature, sources, principles, and artistic character. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between Islam and art and to determing the extent to which Islam as a faith has influenced Islamic art. As one can hardly pass over in silence the ban on representing persons, when dealing with Islamic art as a phenomenon, that too is discussed at the appropriate point in the paper. This paper involves no attempt to offer final answers, the author’s hope being to initiate dialogue on themes affecting Islamic art. A satisfactory treatment of the topics of the subsections would require a series of dedicated studies.