Archivolt

An archivolt (or voussure) is an ornamental molding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch.[1][2] It is composed of bands of ornamental moldings (or other architectural elements) surrounding an arched opening, corresponding to the architrave in the case of a rectangular opening. The word is sometimes used to refer to the under-side or inner curve of the arch itself (more properly, the intrados).

Etymology

The word originates in the Italian (or French) equivalents of the English words arch and vault.

Evolution of Archivolts

Archivolts first became a feature on the entrance of churches in France and Spain during the Reconquest.[3] They are believed to have evolved as a compressed version of the nave of a church,[4] the moldings of the layered arches depicting a theological journey from outside the church to the sacred atmosphere inside it.

Gallery

Archivolts and tympanum from Strasbourg Cathedral, France
Entrance into Speyer Cathedral, Germany
Gateway into Orihuela Cathedral in Orihuela, Spain
A 1911 image showing the central church of the Church of St. John in Yaroslavl, Russia
14 archivolts enclose the Romanesque entranceway into the Monastery of Santa María de Sigena in Aragon, Spain

Footnotes

"Archivolt". Buffalo as an Architectural Museum. buffaloah.com. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
Ching, Francis D.K. (1995). A Visual Dictionary of Architecture. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 12. ISBN 0-471-28451-3.
Abel, Mickey (2009). "Within, Around, Between: Micro Pilgrimage and the Archivolted Portal". Hispanic Research Journal. 10 (5): 385–416. doi:10.1179/146827309X12541437923748.
Abel, Mickey (2009). "Within, Around, Between: Micro Pilgrimage and the Archivolted Portal". Hispanic Research Journal. 10 (5): 385–416. doi:10.1179/146827309X12541437923748.

References

University of Pittsburgh, Glossary of Medieval Art and Architecture

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[1] "Archivolt". Buffalo as an Architectural Museum. buffaloah.com. Retrieved 12 August 2016.

[ching-2] Ching, Francis D.K. (1995). A Visual Dictionary of Architecture. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 12. ISBN 0-471-28451-3.

[3] Abel, Mickey (2009). "Within, Around, Between: Micro Pilgrimage and the Archivolted Portal". Hispanic Research Journal. 10 (5): 385–416. doi:10.1179/146827309X12541437923748.

[4] Abel, Mickey (2009). "Within, Around, Between: Micro Pilgrimage and the Archivolted Portal". Hispanic Research Journal. 10 (5): 385–416. doi:10.1179/146827309X12541437923748.