Abstract
The image of Paradise is based upon terrestrial forms and institutions. Like a mirrored image, it is an inverted form, the contradiction of this world, and yet it reflects a certain material reality. While at the same time gardens and royal tombs were invested with the ideal image of Paradise as a means of conferring political legitimacy, Abū l-ʿAlāʾ al-Maʿarrī used the image of a heavenly voyage as a poetic pretext for his literary ideas and criticism. This paper tries to show that like al-Maʿarrī, some painters may have invested their illustrations of paradise with concrete historical references or modelled them on terrestrial realities. Thus a material object, the gate, heavily loaded both with political, moral and spiritual symbolism, became a necessary part of the artist’s image of paradise.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
