The ornamental motif known as arabesque has ancient sources and first appeared in Islamic cultures as a form of sacred writing. It figures in key movements in European art, bridging cultures and materials, arabesque did not settle into a single form or style.
The nineteenth-century flowering of this motif is featured in the Clark Art Institute exhibition “Arabesque,” on view at the Williamstown, Massachusetts museum through March 22.
Anne Leonard, the Manton Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs, and curator of the exhibition, takes us on an audio tour and discusses several of the featured works.
