Images and words are symbols that both denote actual things, like people, objects, and places, and connote more abstract ideas, feelings, concepts, and theories. Given this shared function, it makes sense that the boundaries between words and images often overlap and that the two are so frequently juxtaposed.

Purity of writing is purity of the soul.

Ancient Arabic Proverb

Arabic Calligraphy at Wazir Khan Mosque

Since the dawn of civilization the relationship between written words and pictures has been manipulated to communicate ideas. It has also inspired countless artists around the globe, whose works demonstrate how text and images can enhance, supplement, complicate, or even undermine each other's meanings.

Questions for Thought

How is it that so many artists continue to choose text as a means of communication over visual imagery?
What do words in a visual arts context contribute to the nature of art practice, and where has this tradition come from?
What is calligraphy? Where did it originate?
How does culture express the value of literacy in art?

The College Board has used this theme on the AP Art History exam predominantly over the years. This review component has been designed to help you explore this theme. In the earlier modules, you were introduced to several works that use writing as part of the artwork.

Examples for Further Reading

The following list contains a few examples.

Writing and Text: Current Module

In this module, a few of the works that are good examples of representations of writing and text are the following:

Dome of the Rock. Jerusalem, Palestine. Islamic, Umayyad. 691-692 C.E., with multiple renovations. Stone masonry and wooden roof decorated with glazed ceramic tile, mosaics, and gilt aluminum and bronze dome.
Great Mosque (Masjid-e Jameh). Isfahan, Iran. Islamic, Persian: Seljuk, Il-Khanid, Timurid and Safavid Dynasties. c. 700 C.E.; additions and restorations in the 14th, 18th, and 20th centuries C.E. Stone, brick, wood, plaster, and glazed ceramic tile.
Folio from a Qur'an. Arab, North Africa, or Near East. Abbasid. c. eighth to ninth century C.E. Ink, color, and gold on parchment.
The Court of Gayumars , folio from Shah Tahmasp's Shahnama. Sultan Muhammad. c. 1522-1525 C.E. Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper.
The Kaaba. Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Islamic. Pre-Islamic monument; rededicated by Muhammad in 631-632 C.E.; multiple renovations. Granite masonry, covered with silk curtain and calligraphy in gold and silver-wrapped thread.
Bahram Gur Fights the Karg , folio from the Great Il-Khanid Shahnama. Islamic; Persian, Il'Khanid. c. 1330-1340 C.E. Ink and opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on paper.

Writing and Text: Previous Modules

The following images from past modules are a few of the possible examples of the artistic representation of writing:

The Code of Hammurabi. Babylon (modern Iran). Susian. c. 1792-1750 B.C.E. Basalt.
Last judgment of Hu-Nefer, from his tomb (page from the Book of the Dead). New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty. c. 1275 B.C.E. Painted papyrus scroll.
Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well and Jacob Wrestling the Angel , from the Vienna Genesis. Early Byzantine Europe. Early sixth century C.E. Illuminated manuscript (tempera, gold, and silver on purple vellum).
Hagia Sophia. Constantinople (Istanbul). Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus. 532-537 C.E. Brick and ceramic elements with stone and mosaic veneer.
Lindisfarne Gospels: St. Matthew , cross-carpet page; St. Luke portrait page; St. Luke incipit page. Early medieval (Hiberno Saxon) Europe. c. 700 C.E. Illuminated manuscript (ink, pigments, and gold on vellum).
Golden Haggadah (The Plagues of Egypt, Scenes of Liberation, and Preparation for Passover). Late medieval Spain. c. 1320 C.E. Illuminated manuscript (pigments and gold leaf on vellum).
Frontispiece of the Codex Mendoza. Viceroyalty of New Spain. c. 1541-1542 C.E. Ink and color on paper.
The Portuguese. Georges Braque. 1911 C.E. Oil on canvas.

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