The Position of Painting Based on the Analysis of the Foundations of the Classification of Sciences and Arts in Islamic Civilization

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research/Original/Reqular Article

Author

Assistant Professor, Department of Painting, Faculty of Art, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The categorization of knowledge and arts in Islamic civilization began with Al-Farabi. Although Al-Farabi identifies the sciences and arts in relation to main branches in his book Iḥṣāʾ al-ʿUlūm, the exclusion of painting from this classification raises questions about its status in Islamic civilization. Why was painting never included in the categorization of knowledge and arts within Islamic civilization? What were the obstacles to its inclusion? Understanding the place of painting requires finding its connection to branches of knowledge and arts. Al-Farabi’s approach to poetry and his examination of the barriers to its classification initiate the exploration of painting's status. In his writings, such as Iḥṣāʾ al-ʿUlūm, he places poetry within the branch of language due to its similarity to language, and in his works Kitāb al-Ahkam al-Shuʿarā and Kitāb al-Shiʿr, he analyzes poetry logically and mimetically. This research, emphasizing the similarity between poetry and painting, seeks to understand the status of painting within the system of categorization of knowledge and arts. The study reveals that painting, in harmony with the fundamental values of Islamic civilization, achieved three main characteristics that distinguished knowledge and arts, which were the basis of Islamic classifications. Like poetry, painting reached the expression of the highest themes by considering ideal and religious virtues, relied on solid foundations linked to sciences such as geometry, optics, and alchemy, and expanded its educational role by penetrating the courts. These characteristics led to the proximity of painting to branches of knowledge and arts.

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Journal for the History of Science

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 11 May 2025

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