Azerbaijani art (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan təsviri sənəti) is the art created by Azerbaijanis. They have created rich and distinctive art, a major part of which is applied art items. This form of art rooted in antiquity, is represented by a wide range of handicrafts, such as chasing (metalworking), jewellery-making, engraving, carving wood, stone and bone, carpet-making, lacing, pattern weaving and printing, and knitting and embroidery. Each of these decorative arts is evidence of the culture and the abilities of the Azerbaijan nation, and are very popular there. Many interesting facts pertaining to the development of arts and crafts in Azerbaijan were reported by merchants, travellers and diplomats who visited these places at different times.

Images reflecting magic, totemic notions of ancient people, their religious customs and hunting scenes carved on rocks in Gobustan is evidence of primitive art created in the Paleolithic epoch. Carvings of men and women, fishing scenes, images of people dancing on the rocks, galloping horses, hunters, a lonely figure of a reaper with a sickle, round dances like the yalli (folk dance), boats with rowers, solar signs and various wild animals have been portrayed and found there.

Gamigaya Petroglyphs in the Ordubad District region date back from the fourth to the first centuries BC. About 1,500 dislodged and carved rock paintings with images of deer, goats, bulls, dogs, snakes, birds, fantastic beings, people, carriages and various symbols have been discovered carved on basalt rocks.

The development of old and the appearance of new cities favoured the development of caravan trade and the expansion of handicraft production. Many cities are famed for rug weaving, and the production of artistic ceramic jars, gold and silver items.

A stone cap from the 5th–6th centuries discovered in the Sudagilan settlement of Mingachevir District is one of the most famous findings of that time. A cup discovered in the village of Bartim village, dating from the second to fourth centuries is kept in the Moscow Museum of History.

The seizure of Caucasian Albania by Arabs in the seventh century was of great importance to the further development of the visual arts. Muslim, Iranian and Arabic cultures began to spread in the territory of modern Azerbaijan. The construction of mosques, mausoleums, castles and other cultic architectural monuments followed decorated with various patterns and ornaments, calligraphic elements (on epitaphs), tile and bas-reliefs Islamic restrictions on the portrayal of living beings stimulated the development of ornamental forms of decorative arts. Ornaments on the Momine Khatun Mausoleum in Nakhchivan, constructed in the epoch of the Seljuq and Khanegah on the shore of the Pirsaat River are monuments from that time.

Small states appeared in the territory of Azerbaijan after the weakening of Arab Caliphate. Local art schools were opened in cities such as Barda, Shamakhi, Beylagan, Ganja, Nakhchivan and Shabran. Architectural schools in Nakchivan, Shirvan-Absheron and Tabriz are the most important among them. Monuments and buildings of the "Nakhchivan school" are distinguished by their ceramic details, which were one-colour initially, but then became multi-coloured. Ornamental motifs generally consisted of baked brick and tile. Smooth stone walls were rarely used in architectural elements belong to the "Shirvan-Absheron" architectural school. Patterns of stone carving art, geometric and plant ornaments have an important place in buildings belonging to this school of architecture.

The artistic value of "divankhana" (rotunda-pavilion) from the Palace of the Shirvanshahs ensemble "is determined by the perfection of the composition, tectonics of architectural forms, the virtuosity of painting and creation of ornaments" according to L.Bretatsinki and B.Weymarn.

Stones with inscriptions and images of people and animals (tiger, camel, horse, bull and bird) have been found in the Shirvanshahs' architectural monument called Sabayil Castle constructed in the 13th century in Baku Bay. A deep carving style was a characteristics of friezes. This monument has a pattern of sculptural art where inscriptions and salient images was a decisive factor in the decorative design of buildings. Cultural traditions of ancient Caucasian Albania are preserved in the stone reliefs.

The Bayil stones, which had the characteristics of friezes, included decorative elements on grand architectural monuments at that time.

Ceramic items discovered during archaeological excavations in Shabran and Baylagan provide evidence of the high-level development of visual arts in the Middle Ages.

Azerbaijani rugs are a product of Azerbaijan, an ancient centre of carpet weaving. Azerbaijan has also been known since ancient times as a centre of a large variety of other crafts. Archaeological digs in the territory testify to well-developed agriculture, livestock raising, metalworking, pottery and ceramics, and carpet-weaving that date as far back as to the 2nd millennium BC. The development of carpet weaving grew after Ismail I's takeover of the Safavid dynasty.

Azerbaijani carpets can be categorized into several large groups and a multitude of subgroups. Scientific research on the Azerbaijani carpet is connected to Latif Karimov, a prominent scientist and artist. He classified carpets into four large groups in four geographical zones of Azerbaijan, i.e. Guba-Shirvan, Ganja-Kazakh, Karabakh and Tabriz.

The Karabakh carpet is one of five ( major regional groups of carpets made in Azerbaijan named after the Karabakh region, which comprises present-day Nagorno-Karabakh and the adjacent lowland territories (lowland Karabakh). The Karabakh carpets amount to 33 compositions. Due to the specifics of the local sheep wool, the Karabakh carpets are characterized by the thick, tall fluffy pile. These carpets are known for their vivid and joyous colours. They are divided into four groups: without medallions, with medallions, namazlyk (prayer rug), and subject carpet. In the mountainous part of Karabakh, the carpets were made in Malybeili, Muradkhanly, Dashbulakh, Jebrail, Goradis, and many other villages.

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  "Ulduzlu" carpet, Kazakh school, Azerbaijan Carpet Museum
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  "Gövhər" carpet, Karabakh school, National Art Museum of Azerbaijan
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  "Shamakhi" carpet, Shirvan school, Victoria and Albert Museum
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  "Ganja" carpet, Ganja school, Azerbaijan Carpet Museum
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  "Khila-Afshan" carpet, Baku school, Azerbaijan Carpet Museum
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  "Prabadil" carpet, Quba school, Azerbaijan Carpet Museum

From the 19th century to early 20th century several artists of the decorative arts who had no formal artistic education became famous. One, Mir Mohsun Navvab who also known as a poet, music theorist and calligrapherwas among the most famous artists of that time. His creations are important in art sphere. Ornamental wall paintings, images of flowers and birds, illustrations to his own manuscripts (Bahr-ul Khazan (The sea of sorrow), 1864) are typical of his creativity.

Usta Gambar Garabaghi represents the national traditions of wall-painting (1830s–1905). He is famed for his works in the restoration of the Palace of Shaki Khans, paintings in the interiors of houses in Mehmandarov and Rustamov in Shusha and other cities. Paintings made by him did not break up the flatness of walls but emphasized their architectural details. His new works were distinguished for the growth of realistic features.

Landscapes, images of flowers and patterns of decorative-applied art made by poet Khurshidbanu Natavan should also be noted. She also decorated her poems with lyric art motifs. Artists such as Avazali Mughanli (Kalila and Dimna, 1809), Mirza Aligulu (Shahnameh 1850), Najafgulu Shamakhili (Yusuf and Zulaikha, 1887) and others were among the famous Azerbaijani miniature painters of that time.