Religious Art in China and the Middle East (200 to 1200 AD)

In the same millennia that Christianity permeated art in Europe, art's story was unfolding differently in the East. 

There's a pattern to observe that as art is traced eastwards, it becomes more sensible. Art becomes stripped of the rules that Greeks and Christianity imposed. Asian artworks roamed where European art dared not venture. Instead of strong straight lines, the Chinese used curves. Instead of pictures of religious scenes, the Muslims used ornamental patterns called Arabesque. Different in techniques as these cultures in the east may be, their artworks nevertheless captured the same sacredness that the west was trying to achieve. 

The Muslims, though came from the same Jewish lineage as Christians, was absolute in forbidding idol worship. They had no statues nor paintings of religious characters. Muslim artists' skills was instead honed by making intricate patterns. These beautiful tessellations served as representation of Allah, and it adorned their mosques, manuscripts, and even housewares like this rug from Persia.

Outside religious subjects, Muslim artists are free to depict daily life. They may be making art of a different subject but their predilection for patterns was still practiced, as if Allah was subconsciously guiding them. 

Another Persian artwork best depicts this Muslim style. The artwork below is a romance scene between a Chinese princess and a Persian prince.

The borders speak for themselves. The detail to notice is the composition of the garden. The trees and flowers are arranged like they are patterns in themselves. They cover the scene effortlessly, patching up every space the same way patterns ornate mosques. The robes of the characters also show these same preoccupations. 

The figures of the scenes may look unskillfully drawn but it is helpful to think that realism is not what Muslim art is about. It's about capturing sacredness, and in the case of this scene in a garden, a feeling of solemn romance that Muslims artists want to convey. The romance was indeed captured, and the patterns are what made the scene come to life. 

Eastwards, Chinese art was even more pronounced in imbuing artworks with life. They developed the technique of using movement much earlier than the west. Burial paintings dating from the 3rd century prove this predilection of using curves to express movement. 

A close look will reveal the stature of the horses. They are drawn in a round manner that helped in expressing movement, hence they don't have the stiffness that is typical of western art at the time. 

Their sculptures also share this same element. The depiction of beast in their mythologies such as the Chinese Dragon with it's long snake-like body, and this winged-lion suggests motion, without looking rigid.

Art's other front in China was Buddhism. It gave Chinese art a dimension of sensibility, one that borders on the spiritual rather than the symbolic. 

Buddhism is a religion of meditation; hence they saw art as a complement to their practices. Buddhist artists strived to inspire reflection by painting nature and much of their paintings are kept in scrolls to preserve sanctity. They do this because such artworks are meant not as decorations but as reminders of the Buddhist teachings. 

Landscapes are a common theme in Chinese-Buddhist art. What they aim to capture is the feeling of the scenes. This is why such artworks look hazy or unfinished, but nevertheless remain effective reminders of beatitude. 

Buddhist artists depict natures scenes are portrayed carefully, with techniques passed down from masters, thus traditional manners of drawing trees or mountains are strictly preserved. For some artists, it caused rigidity, others were able to create fine works like the ones above. 

Strict as their tradition is, what they produced are examples of an exquisite intertwine between art and religion. They are artworks that reflects the earthly in the same manner as that of the holy. 

Study notes: The Story of Art by E.H. Gombrich