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The Faces of the Prophet - Visual Representations of the Prophet Muhammad in European Qur'an-translations and Printed Material

Alberto Saviello

In this part of the research-project the visual representations of the Prophet Muhammad in European translations of the Qur'an, from the 16th century to the early 20th century, are collected and analyzed. The pictures that appear in some of the more than 220 editions of the printed Qur'an dated to this time span provide a major key in understanding the history of the western view of Islam and its Prophet. With the appearance of the first printed Qur'ans in European vernacular language around the middle of the 16th century, the Qur'an was not only studied by clergy but also by the wider secular public. 'Portraits' and illustrations of Muhammad's life were occasionally included in these Qur'ans. These images provide the reader with the imagined portrait of the author of the text, namely the Qur'an, and endow Muhammad with a historical identity. The translations of the Qur'ans and pictures illustrating them fostered the popularisation of the Prophet within Christian Europe.

In the first stage of this research, winter 2008, the different bibliographies were configured. Thereafter, in spring 2008, the collection of the material began. At this stage several libraries in Europe were consulted and visited. These were: the British Library in London, la Bibliothèque National de France in Paris, la Biblioteca Nazionale di Firenze, the Staatsbibliothek in Munich and the Staatsbibliothek Berlin, the library of the Museum for Islamic Art in Berlin, and the university libraries of Basle and Düsseldorf. During these studies most of the editions were analyzed by the author; several other printed books of the Qur'an, which are rare or difficult to get hold of, were checked by requests sent to libraries throughout Europe and the United States. Eighteen different pictures of the Prophet have been gathered so far. The earliest one appears in a Venetian Qur'an dated 1547 and the latest in a Spanish edition of the Qur'an dated 1872. At this stage the various iconographic models and the interrelations between image and text are then examined. The research aims to explore the visual traditions (iconography) and the different artistic methods used in creating the image of the Prophet. Several questions are addressed in this context, such as: What was the need to have a face for the Prophet? How could the portrait prove its truthfulness? Does the visual form produce its own authenticity? What kind of image and character do the pictures generate? General topics of portrait-making are also analyzed.

In the second phase of this research, the visual-artistic expressions will be embedded in and explained by the European intellectual ambience and scholarly discussions on Islam. Moreover, it will be shown that the depictions do not function merely as illustrations for texts but rather as independent forms for the transmission of ideas, at times even ahead of contemporary discourses. Thus, the pictures of Muhammad seem in several cases to have taken on a pioneering role by reflecting on and even advancing fundamental changes in the European perception of Islam from the Reformation to the era of Romanticism.

Future work will be guided by two major focuses: the general functions of the visual representation of Muhammad and its interaction with the text and the instrumentalization of the image. With this prognosis in mind, it is hoped that Muhammad's portraits could contribute to a better understanding of intercultural and interreligious perceptions in Europe and throw new light on how Christian societies mirrored themselves.

   Project collaborators
Alberto Saviello

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