What does tympanum mean in architecture?
What does tympanum mean in architecture?
tympanum, plural tympana, in Classical architecture, the area enclosed by a pediment, whether triangular or segmental. In a triangular pediment, the area is defined by the horizontal cornice along the bottom and by the raking (sloping) cornice along the sides; in a segmental pediment, the sides have segmental cornices.
What is the purpose of a tympanum?
In general, any animal that reacts to sounds or communicates by means of sound, needs to have an auditory mechanism. This typically consists of a membrane capable of vibration known as the tympanum, an air-filled chamber and sensory organs to detect the auditory stimuli.
What was the purpose of Romanesque tympanum?
In romanesque and gothic architecture this term provides a semicircular or pointed field filling the space between the lintel and portals archivolt, usually filled with bas relief.
What is tympanum in Gothic architecture?
tympanum : (plural, tympana): The basically semicircular area enclosed by the arch above the lintel of an arched entranceway. This area is often decorated with sculpture in the Romanesque and Gothic periods.
What is the difference between pediment and tympanum?
is that pediment is (architecture) a classical architectural element consisting of a triangular section or gable found above the horizontal superstructure (entablature) which lies immediately upon the columns; fronton while tympanum is (architecture) the space within an arch, and above a lintel or a subordinate arch.
Is tympanum decorated with mosaic?
In ancient Greek, Roman and Christian architecture, tympana of religious buildings often contain pedimental sculpture or mosaics with religious imagery. A tympanum over a doorway is very often the most important, or only, location for monumental sculpture on the outside of a building.
What is the common name for tympanum?
tympanic membrane, also called eardrum, thin layer of tissue in the human ear that receives sound vibrations from the outer air and transmits them to the auditory ossicles, which are tiny bones in the tympanic (middle-ear) cavity.
Who invented the tympanum?
The instrument came to Rome from Greece and the Near East, probably in association with the cult of Cybele. The first depiction in Greek art appears in the 8th century BC, on a bronze votive disc found in a cave on Crete that was a cult site for Zeus.
What artwork that was displayed in the tympanum?
The Last Judgment
The Last Judgment: Michelangelo’s Painting & Gislebertus’ Tympanum.
What is the triangle above a door called?
pediment, in architecture, triangular gable forming the end of the roof slope over a portico (the area, with a roof supported by columns, leading to the entrance of a building); or a similar form used decoratively over a doorway or window. The pediment was the crowning feature of the Greek temple front.
What period is the last Judgement tympanum?
The last piece examined is The Last Judgement Tympanum located in a portal on the West Façade of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, France (University of Michigan)[1]. This Gothic sculpture stone was created between 1220-1240 (University of Michigan) [2].
What system is the tympanum in?
typically made up of a tympanum, a thin membrane located at the rear of the head; the stapes, a small bone running between the tympanum and the skull in the tympanic cavity (the middle ear); the inner ear; and a eustachian tube connecting the middle ear with the mouth cavity.…
What is the purpose of a tympanum over a doorway?
A tympanum over a doorway is very often the most important, or only, location for monumental sculpture on the outside of a building. In classical architecture, and in classicising styles from the Renaissance onwards, major examples are usually triangular; in Romanesque architecture, tympana have a semi-circular shape,…
What is tympana in architecture?
Tympanum, plural tympana, in Classical architecture, the area enclosed by a pediment, whether triangular or segmental.
What is tytympanum in architecture?
Tympanum (architecture) Jump to navigation Jump to search. The late Romanesque tympanum of Vézelay Abbey, Burgundy, France, dating from the 1130s. In architecture, a tympanum (plural, tympana) is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, door or window, which is bounded by a lintel and arch.
What is the tympanum in a church?
The tympanum is the semicircular area enclosed by the arch above the lintel of an arched entranceway, often decorated with sculpture. One version of Christ appears seated between kneeling figures of the Virgin Mary and St. John.
