Search results

1

František Schmoranz Jr. and the reception of Islamic architecture in Central Europe

100%

Vybíral J., Jones P.

Umění (Art)

|

2021

|

vol. 69

|

issue 4

416-437

EN

The Islamic past and present only became a fundamental topological part of the Western image of Egypt in the latter half of the 19th century. This was in part due to the development of Oriental studies as a research discipline, the wide range of travel possibilities, and the social and cultural transformation of the Middle East as it sought its modern identity. Islamic forms that had previously been overlooked began to assert their presence as means of architectural representation at world exhibitions, where they competed with replicas of ancient monuments. One of the actors in this process was the Austrian architect of Czech origin František (Franz) Schmoranz Jr. (1845–1892), who designed the Egyptian pavilion at the 1873 Vienna World’s Fair. Schmoranz became thoroughly acquainted with Islamic architecture during repeated stays lasting several months in Cairo, and upon his return worked in Vienna as a respected expert and promoter. He organised several exhibitions of Islamic architecture for the Austrian Museum of Arts and Industry, and created a collection of glass vessels decorated with oriental arabesques for the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1878. Though he did not publish any research outcomes, as an architect and designer he was one of the pioneers of archeologically based Orientalism. Unlike most Europeans, his appreciation of Islamic art was not restricted to two-dimensional decoration. Schmoranz significantly expanded the radius of the possible reception of the Orient by introducing the Western public to the residential qualities of the Arab home, thus satisfying the growing need for ‘interiority’ in the industrial society of the 19th century. This article deepens and clarifies our knowledge of the life, work and ambitions of this artist, primarily by focusing on the issue of cultural transfer in connection with the 1873 Vienna World’s Fair. It seeks to answer the question of how the building designed by Schmoranz met the expectations aroused in Central Europe by contact with the Orient. In addition, by means of an investigation into the reception of Islamic material culture, the author wishes to contribute to the discussion of alternative forms of Orientalist thinking, which has up till now been predominantly the domain of linguistic and literary research.

CS

Islámská minulost a současnost se podstatnou topologickou součástí západního obrazu Egypta staly až hluboko ve druhé polovině 19. století. Podíl na tom měl rozvoj vědecké orientalistiky, široká nabídka cestování i sociální a kulturní transformace blízkovýchodního regionu hledajícího svou moderní identitu. Dříve podceňované islámské formy se začaly prosazovat jako prostředky architektonické reprezentace na světových výstavách, kde konkurovaly replikám starověkých památek. Jedním z aktérů tohoto procesu byl rakouský architekt českého původu František (Franz) Schmoranz ml. (1845-1892), podle jehož projektu byl uskutečněn Egyptský pavilon na výstavě ve Vídni v roce 1873. Schmoranz se s islámskou architekturou důkladně seznámil při svých opakovaných mnohaměsíčních pobytech v Káhiře a po návratu působil ve Vídni jako její uznávaný znalec a propagátor. Pro Rakouské muzeum pro umění a průmysl připravil několik expozic islámské architektury a pro světovou výstavu v Paříži 1878 vytvořil kolekci skleněných nádob zdobených orientálními arabeskami. Ačkoliv sám nepublikoval vědecké studie, jako architekt i designér patřil k průkopníkům archeologicky fundovaného orientalismu. Na rozdíl od většiny Evropanů se při studiu islámského umění neomezoval jen na plošnou dekoraci. Schmoranz podstatně rozšiřoval rádius možné recepce Orientu, neboť západní publikum seznamoval s obytnými kvalitami arabského domu a tak uspokojoval potřebu „interiority“, sílící v industriální společnosti 19. století. Příspěvek prohlubuje a zpřesňuje poznatky o životní dráze, tvorbě a záměrech tohoto umělce, a to primárně se zaměřením na problematiku kulturního transferu v souvislosti se světovou výstavou ve Vídni roku 1873. Hledá odpověď na otázku, jak Schmoranzem navržená stavba naplnila očekávání, jež kontakty s Orientem ve střední Evropě probouzely. Současně bylo autorovým přáním touto sondou do recepce islámské hmotné kultury přispět do diskuse o alternativních formách orientalistického myšlení, která zatím byla převážně doménou jazykovědného a literárního bádání.

2

The Transition from the Temple of Jupiter to the Great Mosque of Damascus in Architecture and Design

88%

Sobczak K.

Studia Ceranea

|

2015

|

vol. 5

311-320

EN

Great Mosque of Damascus was built between 705 and 715 by the Umayyad Caliph al-Walid I. However, the origins of this building dates to the distant past. At first it was a location of an ancient Aramaean temple dedicated to the god Hadad. With Hellenization the temple was dedicated to Zeus and in the first century BC the Romans transformation it into the Temple of Jupiter Damascenus. In 391 Emperor Theodosius converted the temple into Christian Cathedral of Saint John. Erection of the mosque by Caliph al-Walid I was under strong influence of earlier constructions. Meaning and consequences of such transitions, from the Roman temple (there is almost no data of the Aramaic building) through the Christian Cathedral to the Islamic mosque is an interesting process. Issue not only within the art and architecture, but what is more, in a religious aspect of the continuity of sacred space.

3

Form and Function in the Congregational Mosque

75%

Mitias M. H., Al Jasmi A.

Estetika: The Central European Journal of Aesthetics

|

2018

|

vol. 55 (New Series 11)

|

issue 1

EN

A large number of scholars have argued that a) Islamic architecture is hidden, in the sense that its interior is not articulated on the basis of its exterior; b) the form of Islamic buildings neither expresses nor embodies its function; and c) Islamic architecture is not tectonic or structural, but iconic in character. In this paper, we use Ernst Grube’s analysis of these three claims and focus our attention on the design of the congregational mosques. This paper presents informed arguments against these claims. We begin the discussion with a clarification of the meaning of ‘form follows function’. A clear understanding of the relationship between these two concepts is indispensable for evaluating the claims that Grube makes in his analyses. Then we argue that the form of the congregational mosque embodies its function in a significant manner. Finally, the paper explains in some detail how the function of a mosque is the basis on which its formal structure is designed. The proposition that we defend in this paper is that Islamic architecture exists and expresses the spirit of Islamic culture.

4

Abbasid Jumeirah, Dubai. An Overview of the Site and Its Architectural Stucco Decoration

75%

Juchniewicz K., Lic A.

Études et Travaux (Institut des Cultures Méditerranéennes et Orientales de l’Académie Polonaise des Sciences)

|

2023

|

issue 36

57-81

EN

Jumeirah (Dubai) is one of the most important sites for the understanding of the Abbasid period in eastern Arabia. At the same time, it is severely understudied and the small number of publications available on the subject situates Jumeirah on the margins of academic debate about the region in the Islamic period. This paper aims to prompt discussion on Jumeirah by presenting an overview of the site, a summary of archaeological research and a preliminary study of the typology of stucco decorations. Some issues regarding problems with the reconstructions and renovations of the buildings are also raised. The study of stuccoes contributes to a better understanding of the site’s chronology, indicating its main phase of occupation to the Abbasid period and the possible existence of an earlier, pre-ninth or early ninth century phase.

5

“Kubla Khan” and Islamic Structures: Retracing Symbolism and Investigating Imagination

63%

Chatterjee S., Okuń-Jaśkowiak A., Głaz A., Kniaź-Hunek L., Bendrat A., Prażmo E., Terejko P., Szczypa P., Czemiel G., Antoszek E., Galant J., Komsta M., Frelik E., Waszkiewicz A., Oleszczuk A., Waszkiewicz A., Okuń-Jaśkowiak A.

New Horizons in English Studies

|

2019

|

issue 4

EN

Samuel Taylor Coleridge’spoem “Kubla Khan” draws upon the historical Xanadu, the summer palace of Mongol ruler Kubla Khan, and presents an architectural space that uses a commixture of imagination and mimesis to present a space of historical and supernatural transactions and transcends geographical limits.The architectural characteristics of Kubla Khan’s pleasure-dome in Xanadu are replete with similarities with various elements of Islamic architecture. The walled-in structure bears a great deal of resemblance to the layout of Islamic paradise gardens which are often found in the chaharbagh structure in mosques and Islamic sites.Further, the poem proposes a setting which has marked similarities with Kashmir and its geographical spaces and the same has been posited by several scholars.In this paper, I have aimed to present a coherent sequence of arguments in an attempt to relate the similarity of Xanadu with real geographical spaces and its intersection with elements of Islamic architecture through an examination of its actual history along with various tales of Xanadu found in the accounts of Marco Polo and other travellers. The paper also compares Xanadu with the structural compositions of the Taj Mahal in India and later, the Mecca, and also engages in discussing its allegorical significance in relation with the Islamic paradise or Jannah.The paper also discusses the possible sources for Coleridge’s poem and how they might have influenced him and his dreams and investigates the poem’s role in revisiting the fabled summer city of the Mongol ruler and its pleasure-dome configuration that resembled his paradise.

6

Współczesny meczet i jego symbolika. Kontekst problemowy i historiograficzny

51%

Czerwonnaja S.

Nurt SVD

|

2015

|

issue 2

86-111

PL

Według znanej formuły francuskiego filozofa Rogera Garaudy’ego meczet jest „lustrem islamu”. W jego konstrukcji, przestrzennej kompozycji, dekoracji zostają symbolicznie wyrażone podstawowe składniki islamskiej wiary, muzułmańskiego światopoglądu oraz estetyczne normy islamu. Można powiedzieć, że meczet naszych czasów staje się lustrem współczesnego islamu. W architekturze meczetów XX-XXI wieku łączy się pierwiastek tradycyjny (sprowadzony czasem do dosłownego kopiowania, powtórzenia klasycznych wzorców) ze śmiałym nowatorstwem form i najnowszymi technologiami oraz materiałami budowlanymi. Całokształt problemów związanych z architekturą, dekoracją i religijną interpretacją meczetu jest nierozerwalnie związany z jedną z głównych kwestii islamskiej teologii. Chodzi tu o rozumienia meczetu w islamie, czyli o odpowiedź na pytanie, czy meczet jest świątynią (świętym miejscem, w którym jest niewidoczna obecność Boga), czy – w odróżnieniu od obiektów architektury świątyń (Tempelarchitektur) – meczet w wymiarze religijnym i moralnym pozostaje domem ludzi. Idea meczetu jako naszego wspólnego domu odciska piętno na projektach architektonicznych oraz na wyglądzie nowych budowli.

EN

According to Roger Garaudy, a modern French philosopher, the mosque is the “mirror of Islam”. Its structure, composition and decor express fundamental aspects of the Islamic faith, worldwiev and aesthetics. One can say that the architecture of the modern mosque is the mirror of the modern Islam. Mosques built in the 20th and 21st centuries combine traditional elements (sometimes by mere copying of classical patterns) with bold innovations and latest building materials and technology. Architecture, ornamentation and religious interpretation of the mosque form one of the central questions in the Islamic theology: What is mosque? Is it the temple (the holy place, presupposing an invisible presence of God)? Or – unlike other sacral objects (Tempelarchitektur) – the home, in a religious and moral sense? The idea of the mosque as our common home has an impact on the architecture of the modern mosques.

Refine search results

František Schmoranz Jr. and the reception of Islamic architecture in Central Europe

The Transition from the Temple of Jupiter to the Great Mosque of Damascus in Architecture and Design

Form and Function in the Congregational Mosque

Abbasid Jumeirah, Dubai. An Overview of the Site and Its Architectural Stucco Decoration

“Kubla Khan” and Islamic Structures: Retracing Symbolism and Investigating Imagination

Współczesny meczet i jego symbolika. Kontekst problemowy i historiograficzny