Arabesque

Arabesque

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.

Arabesque (film)

Arabesque is a 1966 American spy comedy thriller film produced and directed by Stanley Donen and starring Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren. The screenplay by Julian Mitchell, Stanley Price, and Peter Stone is based on the 1961 novel The Cipher by Alex Gordon. The film, along with Donen's immediately prior film Charade (1963), is usually described as being "Hitchcockian". It features as a protagonist an innocent and ordinary man thrust into dangerous and extraordinary situations. It was the last film of that genre which Donen would make.

arabesque

Noun

1. An elaborate design of intertwined floral figures or complex geometrical patterns, mainly used in Islamic art and architecture.
2. An ornate composition, especially for the piano.

Verb

1. To move in an arabesque motion.
2. To decorate with an arabesque pattern.