# Micrography

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{{Short description|Art genre using minute Hebrew letters}}
{{about|images formed with tiny letters|photography using microscopes|Micrograph|miniaturized photographs|Microphotograph|the Chinese version of microcalligraphy|Microcalligraphy (Chinese)}}
[[File:A shiviti, Denmark.jpg|thumb|A [shiviti](/source/shiviti) from Denmark, with Hebrew text in the shape of a [menorah](/source/Menorah_(Temple)).]]
'''Micrography''' (from [Greek](/source/Greek_language), literally small-writing – "Μικρογραφία"), also called '''microcalligraphy''', is a [Jew](/source/Jew)ish form of [calligram](/source/calligram)s developed in the 9th century, with parallels in Christianity and Islam,<ref>[http://expositions.bnf.fr/parole/grand/134.htm Torah, Bible, Coran] (French)</ref> utilizing minute [Hebrew letters](/source/Hebrew_alphabet) to form representational, geometric and abstract designs. Colored micrography is especially distinctive because these rare artworks are customarily rendered in black and white.

== Description ==
The artwork is created from text that forms an image when viewed at a distance, creating an interplay between the text and image. The [photomosaic](/source/photomosaic), whose tiny individual images form a mosaic when viewed from a distance, is a modern analogue. Another modern analogue is [ASCII art](/source/ASCII_art), where ASCII or extended ASCII characters are arranged to form an image on a computer screen and/or printout.

== Motivation ==
{{see also|Calligram}}
[[File:Caligrafia arabe pajaro.jpg|thumb|An Arabic [calligram](/source/calligram) in the form of a peacock.]]
There is a relationship between this form of art, employing both digital and analogic symbols, and the restrictions on images found in the [second commandment](/source/Thou_shalt_not_make_unto_thee_any_graven_image). Micrography provides a unique solution to the visual artist who wishes to remain devout in observation of [Jewish law](/source/Jewish_law), by using only text, not images per se. As similar restrictions exist in certain [Muslim](/source/Islam) societies, this solution has been adapted in [Islamic calligraphy](/source/Islamic_calligraphy) to the [Arabic alphabet](/source/Arabic_alphabet) as well.

==See also==
* [Matthias Buchinger](/source/Matthias_Buchinger)
* [Los Angeles Pop Art](/source/Los_Angeles_Pop_Art)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20200728152549/https://gawno.com/2009/05/micrography-text-art-and-typography/ Micrography: Text Art and Typography]
* Leila Avrin, [http://www.jhom.com/topics/letters/micrography.html Interlaces and Grotesques: the Art of Hebrew Micrography], Jewish Heritage Online Magazine
* [http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/sacredtexts/prophpent.html A 13th Century Pentateuch] British Library, BL Add. MS 21160
* [http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/sacredtexts/germanpent.html A German Pentateuch, c. 1300] British Library, BL Add. MS 15282
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111128003333/http://www.jtsa.edu/prebuilt/exhib/microg/index.shtml Jewish Theological Seminary exhibit on Micrography]
* [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/loc/Micrography.html Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress, from the Jewish Virtual Library]
* Dalia-Ruth Halperin, [https://www.bl.uk/hebrew-manuscripts/articles/micrography-a-jewish-art Micrography - a Jewish art], British Library Hebrew manuscripts project. Accessed 2016-05-25.

Category:Visual arts genres
Category:Jewish art
Category:Islamic calligraphy
Category:Hebrew calligraphy

{{calligraphy-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Micrography](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micrography) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micrography?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.