Qibla iwan, Friday mosque, Isfahan city. Rebuilt after 1121-22(with late work).

Analyze your image using only ONE of the following themes:

Option One: Politics and the Social Order
Societies are one of the most basic and important aspects of human life. Artworks that fit into this theme can teach us things about a society�s values, structure, laws, and certain aspects of people�s daily lives. Explain how the image you selected relates to the specific politics and social order of its culture of manufacture. Consider also such questions as: What aspects of these artworks specifically relate to the political and/or social order of their culture? How can art speak to the community in which it was made? What might we learn by carefully investigating this artwork?
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Option Two: The Sacred Realm
Though the scared realm cannot be seen with human eyes, artists throughout the ages have been asked to create images of gods, goddesses, angels, demons, and all manner of spirit beings. Select and analyze an artwork understood by its viewers/makes to be a manifestation of divine presence in formal artistic terms. Explain how your image represents characteristics of divinity, such as greatness, measure, harmony, love, enlightenment, power, etc. Consider also questions such as: What aspects of this artwork expresses its spiritual power and make it especially significant for veneration and devotion? How does art channel communication between the pious and the divine? How do images of the gods catalyze ritual and shape belief?

Option Three: The Natural World
One of the most important and honored subjects in many cultures has been of the landscape. The desire to portray landscapes, make our own environments, and record our observations of the natural world has been the focus of artists across cultures for thousands of years. Select and analyze an artwork that focuses primarily on the landscape/the natural world in formal artistic terms. Explain how your image focuses the viewer�s attention on the landscape. Consider also such questions as: What formal aspects of this image draw greater attention to the natural world? How does art help us to see our environment in new ways? What can images of the landscape tell us about the values, history, and ideas of the culture in which it was made?

Option Four: Stories and Histories
Stories are essential to many cultural traditions. Artists have often turned to stories for subject matter, especially stories whose roots reach deep into their culture�s collective memory. Select and analyze an artwork that has a narrative component. Explain the stories or histories associated with your selected image. Consider also such questions as: How do pictorial narratives sequence successive episodes of a story? How does the image communicate complex messages to the viewer in a coherent manner? What do pictorial narratives reveal about the beliefs, values, and priories of their makers, in historical context?