Exploration of Art History during Conflicting Periods
In the rich tapestry of Near-Eastern and Islamic art history, war has played an undeniable role, serving as a constitutive force in its development. This influence can be traced back to the late 18th century and continues to the present day.
The Napoleonic campaign in Egypt (1798-1801) marked a pivotal moment, signifying the beginning of sustained European military involvement in parts of the Islamic world. This military conquest introduced European scholars, artists, and administrators to Islamic art, often through a colonial lens that prioritized European tastes, Modernity, and control over indigenous traditions.
Following such military conquests, colonial powers established institutions to educate native artists in Western styles, as seen in the 19th century British annexation of Punjab after the Anglo-Sikh wars. Here, traditional artistic methods declined while Western academic art schools imposed European aesthetic standards and economic models on local artists and markets.
In Islamic lands under colonial rule, war and occupation led to the Europeanization of local art production and patronage, distorting the indigenous Islamic artistic heritage for the tastes of Western audiences and eroding traditional forms and contexts. Local artists increasingly catered to European tourists and colonial administrators, shaping the kinds of works produced and preserved.
The framing of Islamic art history as a discipline emerged in the context of European Orientalism and colonial knowledge systems. Islamic art was often studied not for its own historical and cultural value but as an object of exotic curiosity and as a contrast to Western art, influenced by broader political and military relationships dating back to the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars and subsequent colonial expansions.
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the legacy of war and colonialism continued to shape what counted as Islamic art history, privileging certain regions, periods, and objects that aligned with colonial interests. This legacy affects academic study, museum collections, and public perceptions to the present day.
The consequence of this "discovery" of Islamic art by Western scholars is the erasure and belittling of indigenous interpretive frameworks. The theoretical frameworks in the field remain largely Eurocentric, with local traditions of interpretation rarely included and scholarship in Islamic languages often dismissed as derivative or uncritical.
In debates on Late Antiquity, Islamic art is often seen as derivative rather than generative, marginal rather than central. The field of Islamic art history is centered in the West, with the exception of Iran, Turkey, and to a lesser extent Egypt.
However, the generational shift of Muslim scholars seeking to reclaim and reinterpret their heritage presents an opportunity to reimagine the epistemic foundations of the field. This shift, reminiscent of Gabriel García Márquez's novel Love in the Time of Cholera, reflects on the persistence and precarity of writing art history in times of war.
As we navigate these complexities, it is crucial to acknowledge the colonial origins of Islamic art history and strive for a more inclusive and equitable understanding of this rich and diverse field.
[1] Mayo School of Art in Lahore: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayo_School_of_Arts
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