The illustrations of the Maqâmât

Not only have the Maqâmât often been copied and imitated, but they have also been abundantly illustrated, especially during the thirteenth century in Syria and in Iraq, but also in Egypt during the following century.  These illustrations give an additional dimension to the work. They constitute an important milestone in the history of Arab painting and a source of information on clothing, architectural décor, furniture and social customs in use at the time of  painting. The wide circulation of these pictures in the Mediterranean world poses the question of their eventual influence on western art. It has been noticed that there are certain resemblances between the mosaics in Saint Mark’s Basilica showing scenes of caravans and certain miniatures drawn from the Maqâmât.

In Paris, three manuscripts of the Maqâmât of al-Harîrî, kept in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (French National Library), are particularly remarkable for the quality of their illustrations.  The oldest (Arab MS 6094), dated 1222, is probably of Syrian origin. It still shows the influence of Byzantine painting: a bearded Abû Zayd is wearing a type of veil or hood on his head which makes him look like an oriental monk. Furthermore, the elegant and delicate architectural décor which frames the figures,(often an arcade with full arches, flanked by small columns topped by pinnacles), is often found in Byzantine mosaics and paintings.

The second manuscript (Arab MS 3929) seems to have been made in Iraq around 1240. The figures, which are rather cut-out, stand out against the background somewhat like puppets.  This characteristic leads us to think that some of the episodes from the Maqâmât perhaps served as the basis for playlets performed with shadow puppets and that they formed part of many types of popular entertainment.

The third manuscript in the Bibliothèque Nationale (Arab MS 5847) is by far the most well known. A masterpiece from the Baghdad School of painting, it was copied and painted by Yahyâ ibn Mahmûd al-Wâsitî, in 1237 (Wâsit is a small town in Southern Iraq). Together with the manuscript in St Petersburg (MS S 23, Oriental Institute, Academy of Sciences), it is the most beautiful example of the art of Arab book illustration during the Ayyubid period. It is composed of one hundred and sixty-seven calligraphic sheets in nashkî (cursive script), red black and gold on beige paper. Following a double frontispiece, the text has ninety-nine illustrations of which two extend over a double sheet. The artist does not always precisely illustrate the narrative of al-Harîrî and sometimes gives free rein to his imagination. But, due to his astonishing sense of presentation and the liveliness of his poses, the precision of his animal drawings, the richness of his decors and the freedom of execution, al-Wâsitî produced a work of exceptional quality and gives us a very lively picture of Iraqi society just before the Mongol invasions. In doing this, he reconnects with the popular vigour which marked out the first Maqâmât and more than the author of the text, too much a slave to the language, he communicates the true spirit of the story and gives it a second wind.