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Roman Architecture Article

The grandeur of their buildings, though, was largely external. Much of the interior space had to be devoted to supporting heavy loads. Romans became increasingly concerned with shaping interior space rather than filling it with structural supports. Also, its off-white color made it an acceptable substitute for marble. Roman builders who used pozzolana rather than ordinary sand noticed that their mortar was incredibly strong and durable. Brick and tile were commonly plastered over the concrete since it was not considered very pretty on its own, but concrete’s structural possibilities were far more important. Since concrete takes the shape of the mold or frame it is poured into, buildings began to take on ever more fluid and creative shapes. In a true arch, weight is transferred from one voussoir down to the next, from the top of the arch to ground level, creating a sturdy building tool. Quite often the city’s meat, fish and vegetable markets sprang up around the bustling forum. The temple was erected from local tufa on a high podium and what is most characteristic is its frontality. Also, the presence of three cellas, or cult rooms, was also unique. The entire compound is intricately woven together to manipulate the visitor’s experience of sight, daylight and the approach to the sanctuary itself. They also used concrete extensively, including barrel vaults and domes throughout the complex. Roman architecture is overwhelmingly a success story of experimentation and the desire to achieve something new. Since lintels are heavy, the interior spaces of buildings could only be limited in size. Romans were able to create interior spaces that had previously been unheard of. Roman concrete (opus caementicium ), was developed early in the 2nd c. Also useful in the forum plan were the basilica (a law court), and other official meeting places for the town council, such as a curia building. The wealthy could own a house (domus ) in the city as well as a country farmhouse (villa ), while the less fortunate lived in multi-story apartment buildings called insulae. In this view, we see an aqueduct carried on piers passing through a built-up neighborhood. Rome with clean water brought from sources far from the city. Republican period, architects began to experiment with concrete, testing its capability to see how the material might allow them to build on a grand scale. No longer dependent on post-and-lintel architecture, the builders utilized concrete to make a vast system of covered ramps, large terraces, shops and barrel vaults. Roman architecture was not entirely comprised of concrete, however.

Art Elements and Principles by sites.google.com

A line is created by the movement of a tool and pigment, and often suggests movement in a drawing or painting. He actually drew with his brush, the repeated lines creating a complex pattern. Tobey’s lines are the subject of the painting and are not used to outline shapes or objects. Some lines are thick; some are thin; and many are both thick and thin (organic or calligraphic). Because of the layering of lines over lines, a shallow depth is sensed. The variety of lines is almost endless, and many adjectives can describe the quality of a line (nervous, soft, etc.). Contour lines indicate the edges of forms or shapes and actually describe shapes and forms in the simplest way. Hatching is the placing of many lines next to each other. Our eyes often read edges of objects as implied lines. When all the elements in a work look as though they belong together, the artist has achieved unity. The artist’s brush strokes are all visible; none are softened or smeared together. When the edges of visual elements are lined up, a sense of unity is felt. Shapes have two dimensions, length and width, and can be geometric or free-form. The subject in representational work is usually the positive shape (the sheep) and the background is the negative shape. Geometric shapes : angular, with straight edges, also called rectilinear shapes. In abstract or nonobjective art, positive shapes are usually central or featured elements; negative shapes surround them. If all the art elements – value, for example – are the same, the result is monotonous and unexciting. Value contrast: dark values, middle values, and light values. Value contrast is most evident when black is next to white, and when light values from one end of the gray scale are next to dark values from the other end. Simultaneous contrast occurs when two pure complementary colors are placed side by side. The pure color’s strength and intensity seem to cause it to glow. Or in an opposite way, a building in a landscape will produce shape contrast, as will a person in a city street. If small warm areas are placed in a dominantly cool painting, temperature contrast is evident. Form describes volume and mass, or the three-dimensional aspects of objects that take up space. There is a difference between a two-dimensional shape and a three-dimensional form. When exhibited, these can be rearranged from time to time, similar to the way that nature rearranges rocks on a beach. Space can be felt between the forms arranged in groupings (even in a flat photograph or sketch of the forms). Architectural forms usually contain enclosed spaces for various activities. In nature, forms are easily identifiable because we are surrounded by them. Nonobjective forms do not represent any natural forms at all. In painting, it is the visual equilibrium of the elements that causes the total image to appear balanced. He balanced values, shapes, and colors to create a unified visual statement with the central carnival figure as the focal point. The small girl surrounded by deep shadows balances the entire group of people in an asymmetrical balance of visual elements. It has length and width, but its width is very tiny compared to its length. Value contrasts in the lines from very dark to white let us see the layering of the line upon line. Cross-hatching occurs when many parallel lines cross each other. Unity provides the cohesive quality that makes an art work feel complete and finished. His use of value contrasts to allow brush strokes of similar sizes to show, creates an overall textural quality that enhances visual unity. Variety of shape sizes , color intensities , and value contrasts spark the painting to life. Visual unity in a painting can be developed by clustering elements or placing them close together. A similar overall surface treatment creates a very strong sense of unity in a painting, drawing, sculpture, or ceramic piece. Overall intense colors, repeated shapes, consistently hard edges, and clustering create a very strong sense of unity. So will repeated textures, shapes, edges, and consistent painting techniques. Shape is an area that is contained within an implied line, or is seen and identified because of color or value changes. The artist used a variety of shapes in creating an image that resembles an interlocking jigsaw puzzle. Organic shapes : free-form, biomorphic, also called curvilinear shapes. Contrasts create visual excitement and add interest to the work. If you study his use of contrast alone, you can find at least eight kinds of contrast, which naturally develop an overall sense of variety. A black and white photograph is readable because of gray value contrasts. Each will appear brighter than when placed next to any other hues. Contrast in color intensity occurs when a pure, fully intense color is next to a muted or grayed color mixture. Shape contrast occurs when organic shapes are placed in a geometric environment. Temperature contrast refers to the contrast of warm and cool colors. Often, value contrast helps us “feel” the forms with our eyes. The appearance of a sculpted form changes as we walk around it to see different angles / sides / perspectives. Abstract forms simplify natural forms to their essential, basic characteristics. Realistic forms depict people, animals, birds, and plants as they may actually appear. Balance refers to the distribution of visual weight in a work of art. Balance can be either symmetrical or asymmetrical in a work of art. He uses very strong value contrast to emphasize intense sunlight and shadows. The light and dark values in both positive and negative spaces are in balance also.

Principles Of Organic Architecture and Characteristics Of Design Features by kadvacorp.com

Thus making us healthier and creating a sustainable ecosystem. Making organic foam that is beyond merely green and one which is not an alien in its natural environment. And reduce the negative impact of buildings on the natural environment. In organic buildings feel free and in sync with our inner selves. The parts are made according to the function of the organism. How to differentiate organic architecture from the other branches of architecture? But also, a place of high spirit for anyone, who resides in it. That’s why there is almost zero possibility to treat two different building in the same way. That is acting as elegance to the natural elements, not inelegance. That promotes the harmonious living of man-made structures and the natural environment. As organic buildings are not forcefully impose on their site but are effectively incorporate into the site. A building can have on the environment due to human activities. Sustainable buildings are environmentally friendly and have little or no negative effect on the natural environment. The form of the organism decides the character of the organism. The actual principles of organic architecture are to create a dwelling that isn’t just functional. Are you like the fundamental principles of organic architecture to understand the fundamental concepts of organic architecture?

10 Interesting Facts About Taj Mahal Agra India by wonderslist.com

The construction was completed in the year 1653, which means that it took approximately 22 years to complete this astounding piece of architecture. But, how were the stones and materials required for the construction of the mausoleum transported? The four minarets were prudently built slightly outside of the plinth, so that if they fell, they would fall outside, and not upon the main structure. It is believed that more than 28 different types of precious and semi-precious stones, including the striking lapis lazuli, were inlaid into the marble. But, to keep the male tomb larger than the female, the two tombs inside are unequal in size. In the early morning, it assumes a shy pinkish hue, which turns to a glowing white as the day rolls on, and turns a burnished golden at night in the moonlight. The soldiers had also chiselled out some of the stones and lapis lazuli, and the garden was harmed. It is gradually turning yellowish, particularly due to the acid rain.

The Basic Elements and Principles Of Art by study.com

Value is simply the relative darkness or lightness of a particular color. The three primary colors are red, yellow, and blue, and the other colors are made by mixing those three in many different combinations. A two-dimensional shape, such as a square on a sheet of paper, is not classified as form in art. Perspective is the technique they use to achieve this effect. The master artists also have an uncanny knack for incorporating texture into their pieces of art. If a work is symmetrical, the left side would look similar to the right side. In radial balance everything in the piece emanates from a central point, not unlike the spokes of a bicycle wheel or the maps of certain cities. Variety is related to emphasis in that adding it also adds emphasis to a work. The artist may use color, shape, size, and texture to add emphasis and variety. Movement can be static so that the eye hops around a portrayal or it can be dynamic so that the eye flows around. Repetition is commonly used in the world of pop art, which is based on popular culture. The idea is for the artist to create some sort of pleasing harmony within the artwork. However, many artists use form and color to achieve unity as well. Many of these concepts are related, overlapping with one another to bring out the best of each technique. Many of these concepts are not only related to one another but also overlap to create an artistic vision. On the other hand, hue refers to only the pure colors of the spectrum. Of course, hue also has value since there are many shades of the rainbow. Form in art is its three-dimensionality, as displayed in a cube. Conversely, a line is one-dimensional and is often used to define edges. The great artists are masters at making a two-dimensional piece of paper come to life and somehow appear to have depth. We have all seen that photo of the railroad tracks going off into the far distance and coming to a point. This allows the viewer to actually feel the work instead of just using the eyes to look at it. If the work is asymmetrical the sides may not look similar but it is important to realize that there may still be balance. The artist uses several elements in conjunction to move the viewer’s eye around the work. While literal movement is the actual movement of an object such as a car, compositional movement is the movement of the viewer’s eye through the artwork. Rhythm in art is not dissimilar to rhythm in music in that there is a timed beat, but in this case the beat is caught by the eyes and not the ears. Unity combines all seven elements and the other nine principles we have discussed in this lesson. Of all the concepts we talked about in this lesson, perhaps pattern is the most important in bringing about a sense of unity.

Art History Vocab Unit 1 Flashcards by quizlet.com

If we analyze how the artists use these principles in their artwork than we can discover how all these parts work together to create unity. These properties can also include the tools the artist used, for example a painter may use oil paints but did they apply the paint with a paintbrush, pallet knife, or did they use their fingers? These are effective expressive properties at work that have been used for thousands of years. If line had a general definition we can say that it is a mark that has a length that is much longer than its width. It can be the branches of a tree, a jump rope, the spokes of a wheel, or the edge of a table. Think about the horizon line where the sky touches the sea or think about yourself lying down in bed nice and relaxed. In this case the taller the lines the more powerful the image. If an object is in a diagonal position it looks like it is either falling or in some kind of movement. Think about railroad tracks slowly disappearing over the horizon or a road into the sunset. The most common shapes are square, rectangle, triangle, and circle but shapes are definitely not limited to these. An artist has the ability to use these varieties of textures in their work. In drawing and painting artists have the ability to simulate these actual textures when the surface of their artwork is actually smooth; this is called simulated texture. An artist may create a textured artwork by painting thickly, adding substances to paint such as sand, or by using a technique called collage. For example, if an artist painted large rocks in a landscape, the rocks may look as though they feel rough and grainy but the canvas surface is actually smooth. This is an example of simulated texture in our everyday lives. There are two major forms of space: two-dimensional and three-dimensional, also called real space. These techniques are linear perspective, overlapping, scale, and atmospheric perspective. Remember when you read about diagonal lines in day 3 of this unit? Even though the figures shooting pool are all the same size, we understand that the figures in the artwork who are not blocked by anyone else are closer to the viewer and the others who have other people and objects overlapping them are further away. The man in the foreground will be painted a lot larger than the man in the background. The dark shadows on the edges of the rocks and cacti fade away. Entire books and classes have been devoted to this scientific phenomenon. A combination or grouping of colors is called a color scheme. Secondary colors are made when mixing two primary colors together. For example, blue and green are mixed to make the intermediate color blue-green. You may look at this as one side of a piece of artwork looking like the mirror image of the other side. One side of the piece may have more visual weight than the other. Pretend you have a scale with one large diamond on one side and a bunch of small rocks on the other that combine to weigh the same as the diamond. However, the entire flag on the right has low contrast because the work has a similar value throughout. If a piece of artwork has repeating elements that occur over and over it can become boring. What if every shape was circular and the same size and color? A visual rhythm is accomplished in a work when certain elements are repeated with slight variations. Entire cities have been developed with religion as the central motive. Artists often paint landscapes to communicate how they feel about nature’s grandeur, beauty, and unforgiving tendencies. The artist would capture the image of the city in the same way you take a photo to remember where you were and what the place looked like. Self-portraits are a true gem to art enthusiasts because they can see how the artists viewed themselves. A classic “still life” was very detailed, elaborate, and dramatic. These subjects have been depicted realistically and stylistically in materials ranging from fine oil paintings to glass beads. The rear left leg of this hippo was broken off to keep it from eating the dead as they made their trip to the afterlife. You would not want to spend millions of dollars on a sculpture that is just going to crumble apart in a few years, would you? Notice the emphasis on vertical lines in this study for a skyscraper. Think about a tall tree falling over while the lumberjack yells “timber! “or the neck of a roadrunner as it is running across a desert highway. Slow curved lines can evoke the feeling of tired, sleepy, calm, or even confusion especially if there are many curved lines piled on top of each other. This is called actual texture because we can actually feel these textures on the surface of their artwork. Collage is when an artist cuts out materials that already have textures and attaches them to the surface of their work. If we were standing in front of this artwork we could see the textures actually rising off the flat surface that the flag has been painted on. Sometimes desks look as though they have a rough wood grain texture but it is just fake paneling. In two-dimensional artwork, artists create the illusion of space using special techniques. The object in front or on top seems to be closer to the viewer as the objects being overlapped or on the bottom seem to back into space. The artist must be sitting up high because the lamps overlap almost everybody, which means the viewer (artist) is closest to the lamps. Let’s say we have two grown men in a landscape painting where one of the men is in the foreground, meaning up front, and the other man is in the background, meaning far back. Objects seem a lot smaller than they really are as they go further back from the viewer and an artist knows how to depict this in their work to make space look believable on a flat surface. An artist paints or draws this way to create the illusion of depth because that is the way we see in real life. They are all still there but we cannot see them because they are too far back for the naked eye to see. Color is actually a reflected wavelength of light off an object and onto the eye. Color can evoke a variety of moods, feelings, and sensations. Color can be grouped into three major categories: hue, value, and intensity. The primary hues (colors) are colors that cannot be made by mixing two other colors together. If gray or the complementary color is added to a color than it is less intense. Factors that affect visual weight are size, color, value, and detail. In some cases there can be equal visual weight on each side of the artwork but distributed differently. The weight on both sides is the same but the objects are different. But it also contains lighter values that the values on the left so they end up balancing out. If artwork has no contrast it is either blank or one single color. The white stars against the dark blue background creates high contrast while the red against white is medium contrast. We see repetition in nature from a variety of the colors of leaves to the size of mountains. An effective rhythm allows the viewer’s eye to flow through the work. Instead they playfully move along the yellow lines helping the eye to do the same throughout the painting. Art has been made for religious ceremonies in the form of costumes, masks, and jewelry. Religious events have always been a popular subject in paintings and sculpture. In political cartoons, the artist is actually making fun of a political situation or politician. By examining self-portraits we develop an understanding of the artists’ state of mind and of course, an idea of what they looked like. Still life painting became an art of its own when painting religious subjects was discouraged during the reformation of the 17th century. The still life painting has evolved with time and into experimental painting and collage. Animals have been used for their symbolic and aesthetic value. It was especially used for paving, door and window frames, and steps. The material had a thick consistency when prepared and so was laid not poured like modern concrete. Uncut they were used in roofing and drains, but for other uses they were usually cut into 18 triangles. The stucco was made from a mix of sand, gypsum, and even marble dust in the best quality material. In general, architects supervised whilst it was contractors (redemptores ) who actually carried out the project based on the architect’s measured drawings. One interesting point about the work is that it reveals that the ancient architect was expected to have many skills which nowadays would be separated into different specialisations. They were usually built along one side of the forum, the city’s marketplace, which was enclosed on all sides by colonnades. The columns created a central nave flanked on all sides by an aisle. Their exteriors were usually plain, but within they were often sumptuous with the lavish use of columns, marble, statues and mosaics. Even more innovative, though, were the large apartment blocks (insula ) for the less well-off city-dwellers. Roman passion for enclosing spaces, especially as they were often (partially or completely) roofed in wood or employed canvas awnings. Rarely were marble and fine stone blocks used as this was too expensive. Much more common was the use of brick (usually triangular shaped and set with mortar) and small stones facing a concrete mix core. Romans took an idea and pushed it to its maximum possibility, and the huge imperial bath complexes incorporated soaring arches, arches springing directly from column capitals, and domes which spanned seemingly impossible distances. The evidence of eastern influence can be seen in such features as papyrus leaves in capitals, sculptured pedestals, street colonnades, and the nymphaeum (ornamental fountain). They called this material opus caementicium from the stone aggregate (caementa ) which was mixed with the lime mortar. In addition to the structural possibilities offered by concrete, the material was also a lot cheaper than solid stone and could be given a more presentable façade using stucco, marble veneer, or another relatively cheap material: fired brick or terracotta. There were also circular bricks, typically cut into quarters, which were used for columns. Finally, terracotta was also used for moulded ornamentation on buildings and became a common embellishment of private homes and tombs. Those architects employed for specific projects by the emperor are better known. Architecture covers all facets of architecture, types of building, advice for would-be architects, and much more besides. Constructed with a flat wooden superstructure over stone piers or arches, examples still survive today. The basilica’s long hall and roof were supported by columns and piers on all sides. A gallery ran around the first floor and later there was an apse at one or both ends. Large square blocks were used to create ashlar masonry walls, that is, close-fitting blocks without any use of mortar. The stone was set with the base facing outwards and laid in diagonal arrangements. Despite the decorative effect of these various arrangements of stone and brick, most walls were actually covered both inside and out with white plaster stucco for protection against heat and rain for the outside and to provide a smooth surface for fine decorative wall painting on the inside. Surrounded by archaeological sites, his special interests include ancient ceramics, architecture, and mythology.

Architecture History: Evolution Of Building Design by visual-arts-cork.com

As a result, they involved the services of a wide range of ‘artists’ and decorative craftsmen as well as labourers. The richer the society, the more important these functions became. The most common types of public buildings were temples, municipal structures, theatres and sports stadiums. Moreover, they could not construct buildings with large interior spaces, without having rows of internal support columns.< /p> Pediments (the flattened triangular shape at each gable end of the building) were usually filled with sculptural decoration or friezes, as was the row of lintels along the top of each side wall, between the roof and the tops of the columns. This resulted in an aesthetically pleasing consistency of appearance regardless of size or materials used. The differences between these styles is most plainly visible in the ratio between the base diameter and height of their columns. Greeks, whom they regarded as their superiors in all visual arts. Buildings increased in geometric complexity, while brick and plaster were employed in addition to stone for decorative purposes, like the external zig-zag patterns. And its roofs, vaults and buttresses were relatively primitive in comparison with later styles. They were built to inspire as well as serve a public function. Second, in many of these buildings, the exteriors and interiors acted as showcases for fine art painting (eg. Thirdly, public building programs typically went hand in hand with the development of visual art, and most major ‘arts’ movements (eg. Ziggurats were constructed from clay-fired bricks, often finished with coloured glazes. Minoan architecture utilized a mixture of stone, mud-brick and plaster to construct elaborate palaces (eg. Many of these buildings were decorated with colourful murals and fresco paintings, depicting mythological animal symbols (eg. Roofs were laid with timber beams covered by terracotta tiles, and were not domed. As tile-covered concrete began to replace marble as the main building material, architects could be more daring. It is characterized most obviously by a new massiveness of scale, inspired by the greater economic and political stability that arrived after centuries of turmoil. The basic load of the building was carried not its arches or columns but by its massive walls.

Build Me Up: How Architecture Can Affect Emotions by theconversation.com

In both projects a small library space becomes a familiar anchor to root the experience of the building around a quiet place to think. Their gaze had been fixed on miniature screens for the journey and only a mass concrete structure could bring them back to the reality of the social surroundings of the carriage. Libraries are serious spaces; usually the older ones have an aura of dignity and restraint. These are spaces that make you feel like a child who has discovered something for the very first time. The hybrid space, where many different media converge, has emerged as a flexible and adaptable space – one where use is extended to the changing demands of the time-poor citizen of the 21st century. Aesthetics have been stretched to encapsulate so many uses that we now live in a homogenised environment and find it hard to distinguish one building’s use from its neighbour’s. The craft and the graft of architecture have succumbed to cost-effective, risk averse, quick and generic solutions. Buildings change over time and so do our attitudes towards them. It is now an industrial mega-structure, which will probably, because of its industrial size, resist an architecture of atmosphere and emotion. Such a hybrid could bridge the divide between the purely functional and the symbolic and give back the institution a civic architecture of meaning. Now we need to keep talking about the kinds of emotions we want to create. Historically, the idea was very clear: the library would form part of the civic infrastructure of a place and the community it served. They are spaces that seem in opposition to the world outside. The library has survived as a particular type of space when so many others have merged or morphed into each other. Like a piece of music, architecture has the ability to influence mood, yet so much of the foreground to our streets lacks emotional sensibility. Experimentation – the freedom to explore and take risks – is a condition for which people will have to fight in modern society. Technological advancement brings with it endless o pportunities but we still need to understand and continue the important conversation about how architecture affects us. How do we deal with the crafting of interior space in a world of hybridisation and endless change? Consider the hospital, which was such a familiar piece of urban infrastructure exuding both civic and spiritual meaning. There is now evidence of room for hybrid buildings, existing as a kind of interface between the city, the mega-hospital and the human. We know architecture can create emotions and change the way we experience spaces.

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE by historyworld.net

The years drag by until a competition is held, in 1418, to find a solution. Brunelleschi’s success, and the main cause of his contemporary fame, is that he finds a way of building without any support from the ground. Recognition that this is still a lawless age of feuding families is seen only in the relatively few openings to the outside world on the ground floor (and those few covered with metal grilles). The ultimate in palace architecture is created by the most absolute of monarchs. But by a coincidence both traditions achieve new marvels in this form, quite independently, during the 16th and the 17th centuries. This cathedral (still today the largest in the world) uses the dome as its main architectural statement to anyone viewing the building from the outside – and, in particular, from a distance. But the domestic glass window first becomes a practical proposition three centuries later. Sometimes the shutters are divided into two or three separate sections, offering a practical control of the balance between light and air; part of the aperture can be shuttered and the rest left open, depending on the weather. The top third of the aperture is now glazed with small circular panes of glass set in a fixed metal frame. In a double-hung sash window a frame holding a large area of glass is easily raised up or down because a weight on each side, concealed in the wall, balances the sash by means of a cord running over a pulley. With both casement and sash windows the old hinged wooden shutters remain in place – in conjunction now with glass, to provide warmth or darkness when needed. His aim is to abandon entirely the medieval heritage, even if lack of historical knowledge makes the break less absolute than he intends. His solution, using aerial scaffolding supported within the drum, involves a double skin for the dome, with the outer and inner structures held together by bonds of masonry. Brunelleschi’s contemporaries, there is enough space between the inner and outer skins to instal a kitchen for the masons. At the same time the mighty become increasingly eager to emphasize their status (both to their subjects and their rivals) by an impressive display of architecture. And the centre of the building is a large and peaceful courtyard. Versailles remains the supreme example of the palace as a gesture of power. They tend, because of their symbolic function, to be heavy and somewhat portentous. In the 15th century a refinement can be seen in the richer houses. In vast windows of this kind, the broad aperture is first fitted with a grid of stone (formed of vertical mullions and horizontal transoms). In northern countries it is more common to hold the panes in a sash – a rectangular wooden frame which fits into a groove. The ancient clash between the demands of light and warmth has been resolved. These buildings of the 16th and 17th century are fortified palaces, with superbly decorated pavilions rising above secure walls. The entrance road, climbing a steep hill, makes its way through heavy walls to an elevated plateau and an exquisite palace of carved sandstone and decorative tilework. The splendour of their castles, richly decorated wi th carved and painted ornament, reflects their power. But it is his villas for private patrons which win him lasting influence and fame.

Greek Revival Architecture: History and Characteristics by study.com

But how did an architectural style that was thousands of years old influence builders so many centuries later? It meant that anyone with building skills could use the images in the books to build in the latest, most popular style. Below the roof and above the columns, there’s often a wide band of trim. But people who saw the ruins centuries later didn’t realize it, because the paint had long since worn away. Illustrations of the finds sparked fascination with the classical past. Common characteristics include columns or pilasters (square columns), often used on a portico, a covered entrance porch that might be small or run the entire length of a building’s front. Buildings might be made of stone, brick or wood, but parts or all of them are often painted white to resemble marble.

Architecture In Ancient Greece by metmuseum.org

The capitals are composed of two parts consisting of a flat slab, the abacus, and a cushionlike slab known as the echinus. The architrave is typically undecorated except for a narrow band to which are attached pegs, known as guttae. The pediment, the triangular space enclosed by the gables at either end of the building, was often adorned with sculpture, early on in relief and later in the round. There is also a pair of small volutes at each corner; thus, the capital provides the same view from all sides. The temple typically incorporated an oblong plan, and one or more rows of columns surrounding all four sides. There was usually a pronaos (front porch) and an opisthodomos (back porch). The quarrying and transport of marble and limestone were costly and labor-intensive, and often constituted the primary cost of erecting a temple. At the building site, expert carvers gave the blocks their final form, and workmen hoisted each one into place. A variety of skilled labor collaborated in the raising of a temple. Metalworkers were employed to make the metal fittings used for reinforcing the stone blocks and to fashion the necessary bronze accoutrements for sculpted scenes on the frieze, metopes, and pediments. Painters were engaged to decorate sculptural and architectural elements with painted details. On the capital rests the entablature, which is made up of three parts: the architrave, the frieze, and the cornice. On the frieze are alternating series of triglyphs (three bars) and metopes, stone slabs frequently decorated with relief sculpture. Ionic capitals have two volutes that rest atop a band of palm-leaf ornaments. Corinthian capitals have a bell-shaped echinus decorated with acanthus leaves, spirals, and palmettes. Columns were carved of local stone, usually limestone or tufa; in much earlier temples, columns would have been made of wood. He usually chose the stone, oversaw its extraction, and supervised the craftsmen who roughly shaped each piece in the quarry. The tight fit of the stones was enough to hold them in place without the use of mortar; metal clamps embedded in the stone reinforced the structure against earthquakes. Workmen were hired to construct the wooden scaffolding needed for hoisting stone blocks and sculpture, and to make the ceramic tiles for the roofs.

Sculpture: Definition Types: Statues Reliefs by visual-arts-cork.com

Notice the contrapposto stance, which creates tense and relaxed parts of the body. Also known as “plastic art”, for the shaping process or “plasticity” it involves, sculpture should be fairly simple to define, but unfortunately it’s not. That is, they either carved directly from their chosen material (eg. Nor is it purely solid and static: it may reference empty space in an important way, and can also be kinetic and capable of movement. As a result the traditional four-point meaning and definition of sculpture no longer applies. Thereafter, sculptors have been active in all ancient civilizations, and all major art movements up to the present. For instance, some sculptors focus on the solid component(s) of their sculpture, while others are more concerned with how it relates to the space in which it sits (eg. Such a plan, often based on a system of axes and planes, is essential to maintain linear proportion amongst other things. Egyptian sculptors) observed hierarchic non-naturalistic canons of proportion (eg. By comparison, many tribal cultures employ systems which – for religious or cultural reasons – accord greater size to certain parts of the body (eg. For example, a human statue mounted on the top of a tall structure may require a larger upper body to balance the effects of foreshortening when viewed from ground level. Without such harmony, beauty is almost impossible to achieve. The best way to understand sculpture is to look at as much of it as you can, ideally in the flesh. This should give you a good grasp of traditional-style works. Although clay mainly used for preliminary models, later cast in bronze or carved in stone, it has also been used to produce full-scale sculpture. Any empty spaces involved were essentially secondary to its bulk or mass. Fourth, traditional sculptors used only two main techniques: carving or modelling. It is no longer exclusively representational but frequently wholly abstract. Works of sculpture can be assessed and differentiated according to their treatment of these two elements. Another important element of (most) sculptures are their surfaces. Colour can obviously endow a surface with differing attributes of (inter alia) texture, proportion, depth and shape. Thus for instance, the poses of human figures are typically calculated and created with reference to the four cardinal planes, namely: the the principle of axiality (eg. In addition, the specific siting of a sculpture may require a special approach to proportionality. Tiepolo was a master at counteracting this effect when creating his ceiling frescos). First, the sculptural body must be physically stable – easy enough to achieve in a crawling or reclining figure, less easy in a standing statue, especially if leaning forwards or backwards. Second, from a compositional viewpoint, the statue must project a sense of dynamic or static equilibrium. But some materials like stone – especially hard limestone (marble) – wood, clay, metal (eg. A rare type was chryselephantine sculpture, reserved exclusively for major cult statues. Stones from all three principal categories of rock formation have been sculpted, including igneous (eg. Bronze casting requires the modelling of a form in clay, plaster or wax, which is later removed after the molten bronze has been poured. D art through its new spatial concepts and its use of everyday materials assembled or created in numerous installation-type and fixed forms of sculpture. Unlike the earlier modernists, today’s postmodernist sculptors (eg. Styles tend to be more localized, as today’s tendency among contemporary art movements is to distrust the grand ideas and internationalism of the modern art movements of the late 19th century and early-mid 20th century.