Arabic calligraphy is, in the classical Muslim world, the major art. Without figurative representation, it raises the writing of the Quran and the transcription of the divine name to the rank of a spiritual practice. Morocco holds a specific place in this tradition: it has preserved to this day the maghribi and andalusi schools, distinct from the dominant Ottoman Eastern style.
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Video · The gesture in motion
to be replacedi. The maghribi style
The maghribi style is distinguished by its round, open letters, its slender kaf and sad, its deep half-circle final nun and yâ, its coloured diacritics. It derives from the Kairouani Kufic style of the 9th–10th centuries and reaches its maturity under the Almoravids and Almohads. The Marrakech Quran (National Library), copied in the 12th century, is a canonical example.
ii. The andalusi style
A more fluid variant of the maghribi, appeared in Cordoba, Seville and Granada between the 10th and 15th centuries, the andalusi style is recognised by its more contrasted thicks and thins, its plant ornaments between the lines. After 1492, the Moriscos expelled from Andalusia brought its manuscripts and practice to Tétouan, Salé and Fès, where the school continues to this day.
iii. Supports and techniques
The Moroccan calligrapher works on parchment, paper, wood, plaster (for the wall gebs), copper (for brassware engraving), zellige (for mosque friezes). The qalam, cut from reed at a specific bevel, determines the thickness of the stroke. The ink, called midad, is traditionally prepared from candle soot, gum arabic and water.
iv. Today
The Higher School of Visual Arts of Marrakech, the National Institute of Fine Arts of Tétouan, and several private workshops in Casablanca and Rabat ensure transmission. Contemporary Moroccan calligraphers — Mehdi Qotbi, Lassaad Metoui, Hassan Massoudy (of Iraqi origin but Moroccan training) — export the style internationally.