Frontispiece and its Forms in Architecture

From Italian: frontone.

The term frontispiece or fronton describes a commonly triangular gable surmounting the facade of an ancient temple in classical architecture (Greece, Rome, Renaissance, Classicism), or in one that uses classical forms. As such it can also be referred to as a pediment. Yet a frontispiece can also take the shape of the middle avant-corps (projection) of a building’s facade. Its inner field, both smooth or carved, is called a tympanum. In antiquity, the tympanum was usually filled with sculptural decorations.

Segmental pediment of the Library of Celsus (Ephesus, Turkey). Photo by rob Stoeltje from loenen, netherlands – DSC00815 (2011). CC BY 2.0. Colours intensified. Photo source: “Pediment” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.

The triangular (pointed) frontispiece (or pediment) was developed in Greek architecture as the upper part of the ancient temple facade and constituted an important element of its portico. It was limited by the side edges of the gable roof and entablature; additionally, it was framed by a profiled cornice. The triangular frontispiece was commonly used in the architecture of ancient Rome; the Romans used a combination of a building’s façade with a frontispiece together with a flat roof in larger buildings. Later, a frontispiece appeared in Renaissance, Baroque and Classicism, as the top of the facades of secular and mainly sacred architecture.

Door with a broken and open pediment, with a cartouche in it. Passage Landrieu (n°7) – Paris VII. Photo by Mbzt (2013). CC BY-SA 3.0. Colours intensified. Photo source: “Pediment” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.

In baroque architecture, next to the triangular frontispiece, there are also a curved (semi-oval) segmental type and a frontispiece broken in the upper part. Whereas the segmental variant takes the form of an arc of a circle, the broken type is usually interrupted by a sculptural composition or a cartouche in its center, with the side parts of its profiled cornice remaining. “Another variant of the broken type is the swan’s neck pediment […] with two ‘S’-shaped profiles, resembling a swan’s neck” (“Pediment” 2021). A following feature of the Baroque style is the bending of the pediment, mainly in the part of the entablature by making its individual parts protrude in steps in front of the elevation. In turn, the so-called open frontispiece (pediment) is broken along the base and mainly adopted in Mannerist architecture.

Small frontispieces (pediments) based on columns, pilasters or corbels, crowning entrances and window openings, recesses and niches, are characteristic of modern architecture. Pediments with entablature based on columns are also found in altars and tombstones. Although “a frontispiece is the combination of elements that frame and decorate the main, or front, door to a building” (“Frontispiece (architecture)” 2021), defining the facade of the building with the term frontispiece or pediment is incorrect.

The Madeleine Church in Paris. The sculpture from the pediment (1830-1837) by Pierre-Jean David depict St Geneviève. The original uploader was Shahee at English Wikipedia. – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons (2006). CC BY-SA 2.5. Colours intensified. Photo source: “Pediment” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.

Featured image: Illustrations with the sculptures of the two pediments of the Parthenon. James Stuart & Nicholas Revett. The Antiquities of Athens measured and delineated by James Stuart F.R.S. and F.S.A. and Nicholas Revett, Painters and Αrchitects, London, John Nichols, 1794. Public domain. Colours intensified. Photo source: “Pediment” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

“Frontispiece (architecture)” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Available at <https://bit.ly/3awE8Yt>. [Accessed 18th February, 2021].

“Pediment” (2021). In: Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Available at <https://bit.ly/3bgG2eT>. [Accessed 17th February, 2021].

Davidson Cragoe C. (2012). Jak czytać architekturę. Najważniejsze informacje o stylach i detalach [How to Read Architecture], Romkowska E. trans., pp. 105, 161. Warszawa: Arkady.

Koch W. (2009) Style w architekturze. Arcydzieła budownictwa europejskiego od antyku po czasy współczesne. [Baustilkunde], pp. 440, 496. Baraniewski W., Kunkel R., Omilanowska M., Sito J., Zięba A., Żak K. trans. Warszawa: Świat Książki.

PWN (2007). Słownik terminologiczny sztuk pięknych, p. 125. Kubalska-Sulkiewicz K., Bielska-Łach M., Manteuffel-Szarota A. eds. Wydanie piąte. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.

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