What is "arabesque"

Arabesque \Ar`a*besque"\, a.

1. Arabian. [Obs.]

2. Relating to, or exhibiting, the style of ornament called arabesque; as, arabesque frescoes.

Arabesque \Ar`a*besque"\, n. [F. arabesque, fr. It. arabesco, fr. Arabo Arab.] A style of ornamentation either painted, inlaid, or carved in low relief. It consists of a pattern in which plants, fruits, foliage, etc., as well as figures of men and animals, real or imaginary, are fantastically interlaced or put together.

Note: It was employed in Roman imperial ornamentation, and appeared, without the animal figures, in Moorish and Arabic decorative art. (See Moresque.) The arabesques of the Renaissance were founded on Greco-Roman work.

1610s, "Moorish or Arabic ornamental design," from French arabesque (16c.), from Italian arabesco, from Arabo "Arab," with reference to Moorish architecture. As a ballet pose, first attested 1830. Musical sense, in reference to an ornamented theme, is from 1864, originally the title given by Robert Schumann to one of his piano pieces.

n. 1 An elaborate design of intertwined floral figures or complex geometrical patterns. This ornamental design is mainly used in Islamic Art and architecture. 2 (lb en music) An ornate composition, especially for the piano. 3 (lb en ballet) A dance position in which the dancer stands on one leg, with the other raised backwards, and the arms outstretched.

1. n. position in which the dancer has one leg raised behind and arms outstretched in a conventional pose

2. an ornament that interlaces simulated foliage in an intricate design

The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foliate ornament, used in the Islamic world, typically using leaves, derived from stylised half-palmettes, which were combined with spiralling stems". It usually consists of a single design which can be 'tiled' or seamlessly repeated as many times as desired. Within the very wide range of Eurasian decorative art that includes motifs matching this basic definition, the term "arabesque" is used consistently as a technical term by art historians to describe only elements of the decoration found in two phases: Islamic art from about the 9th century onwards, and European decorative art from the Renaissance onwards. Interlace and scroll decoration are terms used for most other types of similar patterns.

Arabesques are a fundamental element of Islamic art but they develop what was already a long tradition by the coming of Islam. The past and current usage of the term in respect of European art can only be described as confused and inconsistent. Some Western arabesques derive from Islamic art, but others are closely based on Ancient Roman decorations. In the West they are essentially found in the decorative arts, but because of the generally non-figurative nature of Islamic art, arabesque decoration is there often a very prominent element in the most significant works, and plays a large part in the decoration of architecture.

Claims are often made regarding the theological significance of the arabesque, and its origin in a specifically Islamic view of the world; however these are without support from written historical sources as, like most medieval cultures, the Islamic world has not left us documentation of their intentions in using the decorative motifs they did. At the popular level such theories often appear uninformed as to the wider context of the arabesque. In similar fashion, proposed connections between the arabesque and Arabic knowledge of geometry remains a subject of debate; not all art historians are persuaded that such knowledge had reached, or was needed by, those creating arabesque designs, although in certain cases there is evidence that such a connection did exist. The case for a connection with Islamic mathematics is much stronger for the development of the geometric patterns with which arabesques are often combined in art. Geometric decoration often uses patterns that are made up of straight lines and regular angles but are clearly derived as a whole from curvilinear arabesque patterns; the extent to which these too are described as arabesque varies between different writers.

Arabesque is a 1966 Technicolor thriller starring Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren filmed in Panavision. The film is based on Gordon Cotler a.k.a. Alex Gordon's novel The Cypher and directed by Stanley Donen.

Arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of plant tendrils, leaves and flowers, very common in Islamic art. It may also refer to:

Arabesque is a 2005 gay pornographic film released by Raging Stallion Studios. The film stars Raging Stallion exclusive models Huessein, François Sagat, Manuel Torres, Sarib, Ivan Andros, Joey Milano, Joey Russo, and J.C..

In March 2006, it was nominated for nine GayVN Awards of which it won two (Best Group Scene and Best Music). It was also nominated for eight Grabby Awards of which it won three (Best All-sex Video, Best DVD Extras & Best Group-sex Scene).

The arabesque is a type of music which uses melodies to create the atmosphere of Arabic architecture.

Arabesque, also known as Besque (born Stephen Kawalit, September 17, 1981, in Toronto, Canada), is a Juno nominated hip hop artist from Toronto. He studied graphic communications management at Ryerson University. He has signed record deals in the US, Canada, the UK and Japan.

Arabesque was an all-girl trio at the height of the European disco era in 1977 in Frankfurt, Germany.

After the first album, the band lineup was changed by keeping only the original member Michaela Rose and replacing the two other girls with new members Jasmin Vetter and Sandra Lauer. After they split up in 1984, Jasmin and Michaela continued on as the duo "Rouge", while Sandra Lauer started her own career as a solo artist, collaborating with Michael Cretu as Sandra and later as part of Enigma.

Arabesque became extremely popular in Japan, and also had a great deal of success in the USSR. In 1980, the single "Take Me Don't Break Me" became a hit, which only scraped the German Top 40. Their next single, "Marigot Bay", would become their only Top Ten hit a few weeks later. Their last singles, "Ecstasy" and "Time to Say Goodbye", became hits only after their split, in various European countries, as they sounded very close to the Italo disco sound, a very popular music genre on the European dance scene at that time. Those songs spread and gained success through LP compilations of dance/pop music, and bootleg tapes, so, the band could never take advantage of this success, as neither of those songs could properly appear on any music charts as "singles" anyway. (That was a common problem for many '80s European dance artists.)

These last Arabesque singles also introduced the "Italo disco" sound to Japan, under the term "eurobeat", previously used in the UK for the Stock Aitken Waterman productions. That soon lead to Japan's Super Eurobeat music style.

Arabesque or Arabesk is a term created by Turkish musicologists for an Arabic style of music created in Turkey. The genre was particularly popular in Turkey in the decades from the 1960s through the 1990s. As with Arabic music itself, its aesthetics have evolved over the decades. Although melodies and rhythms are predominantly Byzantine and Arabic influenced, it also draws ideas from other aspects of Balkan and Middle Eastern music, including bağlama music and Ottoman forms of oriental music. Arabesque music are mostly in a minor key, typically in the Phrygian mode, and themes tend to focus on longing, melancholy, strife and love issues.

In dance (particularly ballet), arabesque (; literally, "in Arabic fashion") is a body position in which a dancer stands on one leg (the supporting leg) with the other leg (the working leg) turned out and extended behind the body, with both legs held straight. In classical ballet, an arabesque can be executed with the supporting leg en pointe or demi pointe or with foot flat on the floor.

The working leg may touch the floor in tendu back (arabesque par terre) or be elevated. Common elevation angles of the raised leg are 45° (à demi hauteur) and 90° (à la hauteur). When the angle is much greater than 90° and the body trunk leans forward to counterbalance the working leg, the position is called arabesque penché (or penchée, a common misspelling of the French word). The arms may be held in various positions.

Arabesque is a company based in Bucharest, Romania, founded in 1994 and engaged in the trade of construction materials. The Arabesque network includes 19 shopping centers in Romania and 23 abroad. The company is owned by the businessman Cezar Rapotan who also owns shares of the building materials retailer Mr. Bricolage, of the manufacturer of steel structures Sibel FIERCTC in Galati and of the energy solutions company Chorus Marketing and Distribution.

In the summer of 2006, the company has acquired the Budmax network, the third largest player in the building materials business-to-business market in Ukraine.

In 2013 Arabesque had over 2,400 employees 1 and was expected to reach 2,700 in 2015.