The royal veil: early Islamic figural art and the Bilderverbot reconsidered

A re-evaluation of early Islamic art challenges the traditional notion that the Bilderverbot (prohibition against figural imagery) was universally enforced. The study highlights a famous painting from Qusayr Amra, an 8th-century Umayyad palace in the Syrian steppe, as evidence for religiously inspired figural art, contradicting the long-held belief that aniconism was the normative model. Instead, it argues that the inhibition of images stemmed primarily from the concept of an invisible God rather than a strict opposition to imagery itself. This research sheds new light on the complexities of early Islamic artistic practices and theological interpretations.

Ali, N. (2020). The royal veil: early Islamic figural art and the Bilderverbot reconsidered. Exploring Aniconism, 70–89. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429341588-6