Category Archives: LETTER W

Wimperg – a Gable (Canopy) in the Gothic Architecture

From German: Wimperg.

In the Gothic architecture, a decorative high triangular gable, placed over a portal or window. The field of the Gothic gable was decorated with a blind or openwork tracery, the edges were provided with crockets, crowned with finials, pinnacles, and, more rarely, with figurative sculpture. Gothic gables appeared mostly in the medieval sacred architecture of the thirteenth century, and they had the most decorative forms in the fifteenth century. They emphasize the upward movement of the Gothic style. A Gothic gable were also a frequent decorative motif in late Gothic woodcarving and goldsmithing.

Featured image: The cathedral in Amiens showing three portals with wimperg decorated with pinnacles and crockets. Photo by Thuresson (2006). CC BY-SA 2.0. Image cropped. Photo source: “Gable” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

“Gable” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Available at <https://bit.ly/3sMsFdE>. [Accessed 5th March, 2021].

Koch W. (2009) Style w architekturze. Arcydzieła budownictwa europejskiego od antyku po czasy współczesne. [Baustilkunde], pp. 491, 497. Baraniewski W., Kunkel R., Omilanowska M., Sito J., Zięba A., Żak K. trans. Warszawa: Świat Książki.

PWN (2007). Słownik terminologiczny sztuk pięknych, p. 440. Kubalska-Sulkiewicz K., Bielska-Łach M., Manteuffel-Szarota A. eds. Wydanie piąte. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.