Tuesday 16 December 2014

Saudi Arabian Calligraphy Art Font Styles

Arabic calligraphy art has flourished throughout history as an art form that adds value and beauty to literature. The development of sophisticated calligraphy art as an art form is not unique to Islamic culture. In the Islamic world, however, calligraphy has traditionally been held in high regard. The energy and value given to the copying and writings of the Qur’an elevated Arabic calligraphy art to the status of an art.

The Artists in Saudi Arabia are known for their intricate and detailed form of writing known as Arabic calligraphy. In the old town of Jeddah, also known as Al Balad, the traditional culture art form is getting a new twist by being blended with graffiti.                        

This expression can be orally, through written word, art, or music, or even in actions or gestures. It can be a combination of these artifacts, such as the case of Arabic or (used interchangeably) Islamic calligraphy art. Many definitions of Arabic calligraphy exist; in my opinion, it is best stated as "the art of beautiful or elegant handwriting as exhibited by the correct formation of characters, the ordering of the various parts, and harmony of proportions.

Diwani is a calligraphic variety of Arabic script, a cursive style developed during the reign of the early Ottoman Turks (16th century - early 17th century). It was invented by Housam Roumi and reached its height of popularity under Süleyman I the Magnificent (1520–1566). It was labeled the Diwani script because it was used in the Ottoman diwan and was one of the secrets of the sultan's palace. The rules of this script were not known to everyone, but confined to its masters and a few bright students. It was used in the writing of all royal decrees, endowments, and resolutions.

Nastalīq is one of the main script styles used in writing the Perso-Arabic script, and traditionally the predominant style in Persian calligraphy art.[1] It was developed in Iran in the 8th and 9th centuries. Although it is sometimes used to write Arabic language text[citation needed] (where it is known as Taliq[citation needed] and is mainly used for titles and headings), its use has always been more popular in the Persian, Turkic, and South Asian spheres of influence.

Thuluth (Persian: ثلث‎ solos, Turkish: Sülüs, from Arabic: ثلث‎ ṯuluṯ “one-third”) is a script variety of Islamic calligraphy art invented by the Persian Ibn Muqlah Shirazi[citation needed], which made its first appearance in the 11th century CE (fourth Hijri). The straight angular forms of Kufic were replaced in the new script by curved and oblique lines. In Thuluth, one-third of each letter slopes, from which the name (meaning “a third” in Arabic) comes.

Jellyka Saint-Andrew’s Queen is a free calligraphy art font that is, in my opinion, the most authentic looking free font I was able to find. It really appears to have been written by hand as you can see the lines becoming thicker and thinner throughout the penstrokes. 

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