"In Islam the Divine Art is in the first place the manifestation of the Divine Unity in the beauty..and regularity of the cosmos. Unity is reflected in the harmony of the multiple, in order and in equilibrium- beauty has all these aspects within itself. To start from the beauty of the world and arrive at Unity- that is wisdom."
A work of such profound importance--defining the meaning and spiritual use of Sacred Art through its symbolic content and dependence on metaphysical principles--could only have come from a scholar of the calibre of Titus Burckhardt. Wide in scope, covering Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Islamic, and Taoist art, this work—unlike other books in its field—can help readers accomplish in themselves the very goals for sacred art (i.e. spiritual transfiguration).
Every sacred art is deeply rooted in the religion from which it originates. This, however, does not imply that everything that could be called “religious art” is in fact sacred art (identifiable as such by its style and methods rather than by its models). Style and method are, above all, the vehicles of tradition, and tradition originates in the “revelation” which gave birth to each great civilization.
Burckhardt wrote both in his native German and in French. His range is tremendous: from modern science in its various forms through Christianity and Islam, to symbolism, Architecture and mythology. The present work represents Burckhardt's penetrating analysis of a subject that is extremely important but, nevertheless, suffers from a host of misconceptions. A work of profound importance- defining meaning and spiritual use of Sacred art through its symbolic content and dependence on metaphysical principles. Presented is the art of Hinduism Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Taoism where "the artistic rules of each are not only deducible from existing works, but are confirmed by canonical writings and by the example of living masters."
Adhan Clocks