Islamic art emerged in the 7th century along with the newly found religion of Islam. Islamic art takes up aspects of Roman, early Christian, and Byzantine styles and redefines them in its own religious context (Getlein and Gilbert 411). Other important influences in Islamic art came from pre-Islamic Persian culture. The most prominent feature of Islamic art and one it shares with certain strains of Orthodox Judaism is the prohibition of images of animate beings in a religious context. The Qur'an contains several passages that prohibit the worship of idols. The representations of humans, animals, and God are therefore forbidden in Islamic art (410).
Because of these restrictions, Islamic artists have developed a "decorative" style of art that focuses on geometric forms and complex patterns, which frequently incorporate calligraphy, foliage and flowers. Rhythm, symmetry, and unity are other elements that are strongly emphasized in Islamic art. Moreover, art forms such as calligraphy, tapestries, carpets, architecture, and ceramics (tiles, as well as vases, etc.) are considered major art forms in Islamic cultures (412). In non-religious contexts, illuminated books, for example, that show historic scenes were allowed but if one compares the page from the manuscript of Haft Manzar of 1538 shown on page 412 of Getlein's book, with Renaissance paintings, it becomes clear that the artist was not concerned with representing the depicted scene realistically.
If artists of Islamic culture depicted scenes of daily life or historic scenes, they chose a style that in many ways is reminiscent of earlier Byzantine icons. The body shapes and faces of the persons depicted appear flat and stylized. In addition, the paintings have little or no realistic perspective.
At the time when the manuscript page cited above was created, the Italian Renaissance had already reached its peak and perfected various
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