Calligraphy

From ArticleWorld

Calligraphy is the art of decorative writing. Many cultures, including Chinese, Japanese, Islamic, Hebrew, and Western use calligraphy to decorate important documents. Each different style is called a hand.

Eastern Calligraphy

In China, calligraphy is essentially an abstract art. The characters, called hanzi, are considered a refined art not only in China, but also in many other East Asian cultures.

Japanese calligraphy seeks to incite words. Known as shodo, Japanese calligraphy is very personal to each artist and varies from person to person.

On the other hand, Islamic calligraphy graces the insides of mosques and is considered the art of the spiritual world. Calligraphy is a central part of the Islamic holy book, the Koran, and the Arabic language.

Hebrew culture used calligraphy in the 800s and 900s in their famous illuminated bibles.

Western Calligraphy

The introduction of Christianity to the Latin language spurred a large evolution of writing for Western culture. Monks and Celts created the Insular writing style and illuminated books of from the seventh to ninth century encouraged calligraphy.

Early Western calligraphy included the invention of several new hands such as the Carolingian minuscule, Chancery, and italic.

The invention of the printing press in the 1400s, however, tapered calligraphy’s popularity. The Arts and Crafts movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s, however, renewed calligraphy’s esteem.

For Westerners, calligraphy is often only used for special occasions, such as wedding invitations and announcements.

While the traditional written word becomes less popular, calligraphy has given way to modern-day interpretations including graffiti and calligraphy-inspired typefaces such as French Script, Lucida, and Old English.