Ilustration: Decorative pattern work from the interior of San Francesco d'Assisi Church, Italy, 13th century.
The decorative pattern work reproduced in these illustrations, although technically decorative and hand painted, mostly originate from the fine art wall painting produced within the church of San Francesco d'Assisi in the thirteenth century.
They were reproduced in book form in the nineteenth century and were meant to give both a scholarly and practical guide to interested parties, whether they be historian or designer. Therefore, they are not photographs of decoration seen in the interior of the church, but more a case of idealised decoration without the patina of age, something the Victorians were particularly keen to emphasise, pattern in its original pristine setting. Interestingly, today we tend to prefer the authenticity and localised history of decorative work, including all of the accidents and history of the aging process, which to us gives it a more tangible connection with past generations.
Illustration: Decorative pattern work from the interior of San Francesco d'Assisi church, Italy, 13th century.
Much of the decorative work shown here was derived from the backgrounds of religious paintings by such masters as Cimabue and Giotto. As 'filler' they might have been seen by many as superficial and lacking in interest. However, to the decorative artist, scholar or crafts person they were and are still considered a useful inspirational tool for new contemporary decoration and pattern work. Perhaps more importantly they can also be seen as being part of the vital element in the history of the vocabulary of the decorative arts in Europe, particularly when considering the geographical and cultural position of Italy, between that of Northern Europe and Islam and in a central position between the western and eastern Mediterranean.
Although showing no obvious outward signs of Islamic influence, there is for example no calligraphic Arabic script that was often loosely translated in Europe into meaningless decorative pattern work rather than as was intended in the original text. The geometrical and regular pattern work, along with the interactive and interdependent nature of the work, is still identifiable as being strongly linked with North African textile and ceramic work which was such a feature of the local culture and became part of the indigenous decorative work of both Sicily and Southern Italy, both areas of which were either occupied by Islamic forces, or were close partners in trade and culture.
Illustration: Decorative pattern work from the interior of San Francesco d'Assisi church, Italy, 13th century.
It is perhaps wise to remember that the Mediterranean during the medieval period was by no means considered as a military, political, ideological or cultural barrier such as the old Iron Curtain between Western and Eastern Europe in the mid twentieth century for example. There was no real scenario regarding a situation whereby Islam occupied the south and Christianity the north, with a no-mans land in between. Nations, provinces and regions were interdependent, changed alliances rapidly irrespective of religion, and traded products and ideas often freely and rapidly. Therefore, the geometrical ideas and theories concerning Islamic decoration and general pattern work, would not necessarily have been seen in southern Europe at least, as any form of alien or oppressive cultural interference or intervention by outside forces, but more a case of interesting and speculative diversions in pattern work and craft from neighbouring settlements and communities.
Illustration: Decorative pattern work from the interior of San Francesco d'Assisi church, Italy, 13th century.
In some respects, Europe and the Islamic world have more in common historically than perhaps they would at times wish to be known, and certainly, that is true as far as the decorative arts and architecture are concerned. The interaction on so many levels across the entire breadth of the Mediterranean built the foundations of a mixed culture that eventually engendered the Modern World. The Mediterranean, long a powerhouse of invention and dissemination of ideas in the ancient world, proved no different in the medieval world. Ironically and sadly, the Mediterranean today is often seen as a cultural divide with a huge chasm of institutionalised distrust and hostility generated between Europe in the north and North Africa to the south. Both sides of the cultural divide in many respects share the same cultural root, which is seen in much more than just the decorative arts. That the dissimilarities rather than the similarities are emphasised today, is a sad reflection of countless lost opportunities to build bridges across the Mediterranean in order to reconnect different sides of a vibrant, dynamic and creative Mediterranean culture.
Illustration: Decorative pattern work from the interior of San Francesco d'Assisi church, Italy, 13th century.
However, the often complex and interconnected history of the decorative arts of both Europe and North Africa can still inspire and intrigue, and although other avenues may well be closed between the two regions, the decorative arts should always be a means of overcoming bigotry and institutionalised superiority. Artists, designers and craft makers should relish the attraction and intrigue of the pattern irrespective of the cultural or geographical origin. Pattern is King!
Further reading links:
Islamic Decoration and Ornament
The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe (Islamic Surveys)
God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215
Europe and Islam (Making of Europe)
Sea of Faith: Islam and Christianity in the Medieval Mediterranean World
Western Views of Islam in Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Perception of Other
A History of Medieval Islam
The Muslims of Medieval Italy (New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys)
The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain
In the Light of Medieval Spain: Islam, the West, and the Relevance of the Past (New Middle Ages)
Islam and the Medieval West: Aspects of Intercultural Relations : Papers Presented at the Ninth Annual Conference of the Center for Medieval and Ear
The Muslim Discovery of Europe
Islam and Travel in the Middle Ages
Conflict and Coexistence: Archbishop Rodrigo and the Muslims and Jews of Medieval Spain (History, Languages, and Cultures of the Spanish and Portuguese Worlds)
Muslims in Medieval Italy: The Colony at Lucera
