Islamic Art and Geometry

PART I: Visual Arts &
Mathematics
AGE RANGE: 13-15
TOOL 2: ISLAMIC ART AND

GEOMETRY
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Educator’s Guide
Title: Geometry in Islamic Art
Age Range: 13-15 years old
Duration: 2 hours
Mathematical Concepts: dimensions in space, symmetry, polygons, geometric
relations, geometric transformations in a plane, cartesian coordinates
Artistic Concepts: Islamic Art, artistic patterns, tessellations, abstract art
General Objectives: To discover the mathematical concepts hidden in Islamic artistic
compositions and understand the practical use of math through these explorations.
Instructions and Methodologies: The students will explore both fields as a whole, by
drawing the art or watching the suggested videos that analyze Islamic artistic
compositions. This tool is a basis to discover the mentioned math concepts.
Resources: This tool provides pictures and videos for you to use in your classroom. The
topics addressed in these resources will help you find other materials to personalize
and give nuance to your lesson.
2
Tips for the educator: Learning by doing is very efficient, especially with young
learners with learning difficulties. Provide a hands-on experience for a more
enjoyable experience and encourage creativity.
Desirable Outcomes and Competences: The student will be able to:
o Understand the different concepts of plane geometry;
o Understand how polygons were used in Islamic Art;
o Use cartesian coordinates to draw on a plane.
Debriefing and Evaluation:

Write 3 aspects you liked about this 1.
activity: 2.
3.
Write 2 aspects that you have learned 1.
2.
Write 1 aspect for improvement 1.
Introduction
The Middle Ages were an amazing time for Islamic Art to flourish. Many of the
buildings that are still visited today, such as the Alhambra, come from that artistic
current. In Islamic Art, we can actually see the connection with mathematics as the
shapes represented are usually geometrical shapes with a mathematical reflection
behind.
This type of art avoids the representation of living figures as it is considered as an

exclusively divine activity to create living beings. This is why geometric shapes and
calligraphy were two of the most widely used patterns in Islamic Art. Geometric
knowledge could decisively be conceived as a theoretical instrument in visual arts.
Islamic Art
According to the founding story, the principles of Islam were revealed to Muhammad,
a merchant in Mecca in ca. 570–632 A.D. The Muslim scripture was called the
“Qur’an”, and their god “Allah”. The name of this religion comes from Arabic and
means “submission” (to Allah). Even though there were initially no rules against the use
of figural representations in art, the Qur’an and the traditions were both against
idolatry and the worship of images, and it was considered a sin.
There are some recurring images in Islamic Art: calligraphy, vegetal motifs, and
geometric patterns. The geometric art was started by the Byzantine and Sasanian
empires, but Islamic artists took it to another level, making it more rational and orderly.
Islamic mathematicians and other scientists were involved in this process, bringing a
fresh view on this art and on the scientific and mathematical concepts of those times.
As the circle is one of the main geometric forms used in Islamic art, the compass and
the ruler were both widely used by artists. The repetition and combination of
4
geometric shapes was the foundation of this art. The representations were mainly two-
dimensional with no depth at all. There is usually a background and a foreground
which are filled as much as possible with a pattern of combined shapes. Islamic art is
also free in terms of space. It does not belong in a frame as it is made to always
expand.
Islamic Geometry
As the representation of living figures was considered a sin, muslim artists used
geometry to express their creativity. They designed complex patterns of geometrical
forms that were tipically repetitive and seemed infinite, which aimed at representing
the greatness of Allah’s creation. The circle, considered as the perfect infinite shape,
as well as the eight-pointed star were often used as a basis to build other patterns. This
is why artists used a ruler and compass to build their works. Islamic geometry was used
to decorate furniture, rugs, houses, and other buildings such as mosques.
The star was a recurring image used in Islamic art, along with other shapes that fill the
artworks’ tesselations. Here are some examples:
• The Six-pointed Star and the Hexagon
This tile is exposed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New

York but comes from Iran and was created in the 13th-14th
centrury. You can see that the stars are actually made of two
overlapping equilateral triangles, which allows for such
symmetry. Between the stars, there is another shape: the
Figure 1: Islamic Tile, six-

hexagon, which was also widely used in islamic art.
pointed star
• The Eight-pointed Star
This tile, from the 13th century, is also exposed at the MET, in
New York. The shape is one of the most common ones
observed in Islamic geometric patterns. It contains several 5
types of ornaments often seen during that period:
geometry, vegetal motifs and calligraphy. As you can see,
the eight-pointed star is actually made of two overlapping
squares.
Figure 2: Islamic Tile, eight-
pointed star
• The Twelve-pointed Star
This image shows a mosaic in the Alhambra, one of

the most famous muslim palaces from the Middle Ages
which is located in Southern Spain. As you can see,
many different geometrical shapes fill every corner of
this pattern. One of them is the twelve-pointed star.
Figure 3: Islamic Mosaic, twelve-
pointed star You can learn the technique’s details by watching the
following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg1NpMmPv48&feature=youtu.be
You can use this fun tool to design your own tiles online. Use a computer or
download the app on your phone to create as many designs as you want:
https://tilemaker.teachalmasdar.com/.
Glossary
The Qur’an: the religious text of Islam that Allah revealed to the prophet Muhammad.
Its name means “the recitation” in Arabic.
Islam: the Muslims’ monotheist religion based on the sacred texts of the Qur’an.
Abstraction: is the use of lines, shapes, forms and colors that differ from the accurate
depiction of the real world in visual art.
6
Tessellation: is when a shape or image repeats itself infinitely on a plane.
Calligraphy: the art of decorative writing.
The Math behind Islamic Art
1. Planes:
First, let’s see some geometry concepts:1
You know there are different dimensions for a geometrical shape:
• The point has a position but no dimension

• The line is one-dimensional
• The plane is two-dimensional
• The solid is three-dimensional
Islamic art is mostly two-dimensional, which means that it uses plane geometry. It is
thus a representation of different shapes on a flat surface that can extend infinitely.
2. Polygons
7
In Islamic art, you will find many different figures in the infinite tessellations. Among
these figures, you will see many polygons.
A polygon is a two-dimensional shape made of at least three straight lines and
angles.
Among them, we can cite triangles, rectangles, pentagons, pentagrams and
hexagons.
The word “polygon” comes from the Greek “polugōnon”, which means “many-
angled”.
1
https://www.mathsisfun.com/geometry/
3. Transformations
To create tessellations and other visual effects, the artists sometimes use geometrical
transformations:
• Rotation
Rotation occurs when you turn a shape around a point, the center, which is always at
the same distance from any point of the shape.
You will need to choose the degree of rotation and use your protractor and
compass:
The yellow point is the center around which the shapes can
rotate to create this symmetry. The different shapes turn with
different degrees of rotation.
Figure 4: Illustration of rotation

in an Islamic pattern
• Reflection
Reflection is what creates symmetry with a central line in the middle. Every point of
the shape will be at the same distance from the line as its reflection.
Let’s see an example:
In this image, you can see that the middle of the picture is the
central line that divides it into two perfectly identical images.
Figure 5: Illustration of
reflection in an Islamic
pattern
• Translation
Translation is when you move a shape to another place by moving every one of its
points in the same direction and at the same distance.
Let’s see how this can be done:
In this image, you can also see that it is possible to move a

shape to a different place by moving its points:
• in the same direction
• at the same distance.
Figure 6: Illustration of
translation in an Islamic
pattern
4. Cartesian Coordinates
9
Cartesian coordinates show us the place of a point on a graph. There are two axes:
Axis x, the abscissa, which tells you how far along the point is
Axis y, the ordinate, which tells you how far up it is
We always measure the position from the point O, the origin.

The coordinates of a point will be written as such: (x,y)
On this graph, the point A has the coordinates (-1,1) because we

always measure the position from the origin, which is at the
intersection of both axes.
Remember when we talked about two-dimensional geometry?
Well, think about this:
• In a number line, you can only go left – right
• In a graph, you can go left – right and down – up
• In real life, you can do all that but also go backwards – forwards.
This is exactly what we saw with the three dimensions, which means that the graphs
with cartesian coordinates can be used to represent two-dimensional geometry, and
thus Islamic art!
10
TASK
This task will enable you to comprehend the ways in which geometry was used in
Islamic art.
To build such patterns, you will need to draw them on a plane.
The six-pointed star.
• Draw the axes

• Place your compass at the intersection
• Place point A at (0;0), the origin
• Place point B at (0;2)
11
• Open your compass by 2cm

• Draw a circle from center A
• Keep the same opening
• Draw another circle with your compass’ needle point
at point B
• Place point C at the intersection of the two circles
• Trace a circle from point C
• Place point D at the intersection of that circle with the
original circle
• Repeat this with the following intersection of the

circles with the original circle.
12
• Draw a triangle from point B to points F and D.

• Draw another triangle from point E to points G
and C.
• Color the shape formed by the overlapping
triangles
→
The eight-pointed star.

You can start the same way as with the six-pointed star.
• Draw a circle from every intersection of the first

circle with the axes:
13
→ Place point B at (0;2)
→ Place point C at (2;0)
→ Place point D at (0;-2)
→ Place point E at (-2;0)
• Draw two lines linking the opposite intersections

of the outer circles.
• Draw a first square linking the intersections
of those lines with the original circle.
• Draw another square linking the
intersections of the axes with the first circle.
• Color the shape formed by the
overlapping squares
14
The twelve-pointed star
Let’s try to make things a little more challenging!
• Place your compass’ needle at the

intersections of the first circle with
the abscissa
• Draw three circles on the abscissa
using the first one’s center, point A
and its intersections, points C and D
→ Place point B at (0;2)

→ Place point C at (2;0)
→ Place point D at (-2;0)
→ Place point E at (0;-2)
15
• Draw a circle from B and E
• Draw a circle from each circle’s intersection with the first circle.
• To draw the star, link each point with the fifth following point.
→ Link point B to point H
→ Then H to J,
→ Then J to C…
Can you see that there are actually several twelve-pointed stars in the drawing? 16
If you prefer using a computer, you can draw the stars on a software called
GeoGebra!
LEARN MORE…
Learning activities with Islamic art:
https://www.metmuseum.org/-/media/files/learn/for-educators/publications-for-
educators/islamic_art_and_geometric_design.pdf
History and activities about Islamic art:

https://www.ncetm.org.uk/resources/18030

https://www.philamuseum.org/doc_downloads/education/lessonPlans/Common%20
Core%20Math%20And%20Islamic%20Art.pdf
Lesson on the geometry of Islamic design:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg1NpMmPv48
17
Lesson on Islamic Art:
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-islam/beginners-guide-islamic-
art/a/arts-of-the-islamic-world
Lesson on vectors to go further about translation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml4NSzCQobk

https://www.vam.ac.uk/info/teachers-resources-for-secondary-schools-and-colleges
Lesson about geometry in Islamic art:

https://artofislamicpattern.com/resources/educational-posters/
Two games/apps around Islamic art patterns:

http://www.engare.design/ or https://tilemaker.teachalmasdar.com/

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PART I: Visual Arts &

TOOL 2: ISLAMIC ART AND

Debriefing and Evaluation:

This type of art avoids the representation of living figures as it is considered as an

• The Six-pointed Star and the Hexagon

This tile is exposed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New

Figure 1: Islamic Tile, six-

• The Eight-pointed Star

• The Twelve-pointed Star

This image shows a mosaic in the Alhambra, one of

Calligraphy: the art of decorative writing.

• The point has a position but no dimension

Figure 4: Illustration of rotation

Let’s see an example:

Let’s see how this can be done:

In this image, you can also see that it is possible to move a

We always measure the position from the point O, the origin.

On this graph, the point A has the coordinates (-1,1) because we

To build such patterns, you will need to draw them on a plane.

The six-pointed star.

• Draw the axes

• Open your compass by 2cm

• Repeat this with the following intersection of the

• Draw a triangle from point B to points F and D.

The eight-pointed star.

• Draw a circle from every intersection of the first

• Draw two lines linking the opposite intersections

• Place your compass’ needle at the

→ Place point B at (0;2)

History and activities about Islamic art:

Learning activities with Islamic art:

Lesson on the geometry of Islamic design:

Lesson on vectors to go further about translation:

Learning activities with Islamic art:

Lesson about geometry in Islamic art:

Two games/apps around Islamic art patterns:

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