Romanesque arch mins

ROMANESQUE
ARCHITECTURE
9TH TO 15TH CENTURY A.D.

an architectural style of Medieval Europe
characterised by
• semi-circular arches, and evolving into the Gothic style,
• pointed arches, beginning in the 12th century.
Although there is no consensus for the beginning date of the
style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th centuries,
examples can be found across the continent, making
Romanesque architecture the first pan-European architectural
style since Imperial Roman Architecture. The Romanesque
style in England is more traditionally referred to as Norman
architecture.

Formation and development
The combination of Christian requirements and roman details is
called the Romanesque architecture.
Due to the collapse of roman empire, Romanesque architecture
developed in western Europe. This is the direct modification of roman
architecture. This style developed in Italy, and travelled France,Germany,
central Europe, Spain and Britain, etc.
 Physical:
• Buildings reflected climate
• Evolved for the climate and topography of northern Europe-origins of
gothic
• Strongly marked architectural characteristics due to difference in
geographical position
 Culture:
• Christianity and the influence of religious order
• Erection of a church or a monastery was the foundation of a town
• Power and prestige of the church increased
• Expression were cathedral churches and monastic buildings
• Monastery- most expressive of the developing powers of the holy orders
& the cultures in Romanesque Europe.

• Grew in Italy, France, Germany, Central Europe, Spain and
Britain.
• In early period, style gathered the materials from ruins of
roman buildings
• With proper understanding, new art was founded on the old.
The ruins of the older buildings served as quarry for the new
buildings.
• In later period, style was remarkable for the use of new
constructive methods
• Small sized dressed stones and thick mortar joints.
• The roman cross vaults were replaced by ribs and panel
vaulting.
Characteristics

Architectural character
Pre-romanesque:
Basilican plan proved to be most practical for churches, followed early
Christian models.
Romanesque: Romanesque architecture is characterized by the desire to
articulate to stress or underline every structural division in order to produce
a unified composition.
Smooth surfaces & undifferentiated colonnades of early Christian
architecture rejected in favor of articulating bay divisions in many ways.
The separate parts of the church are gradually incorporated into a single
harmonious composition
The first signs of this movement appeared in different parts of Europe
roughly same time around 1000AD.

• The plans of basilican churches were slightly modified in this period
• The transepts i.e. southern and northern part were added thus making
the church well defined cross on plan
• Breadth of trancepts was equal to nave, which in turn was usually twice
the width of aisle
• The choir was enclosed by screen walls-cancelli or channel
• Outstanding features of this style were square, octagonal or circular
towers
nave
aisle
choir
Trancepts
• Walls were roughly built
• Sometimes wall arcading was done
with attached columns with rough
capitals
• Arcades were common where columns
or piers were used to support semi-
circular openings or arches
• Columns were moulded with attic base
• Abacus was moulded with alternate
fillets and hollows
• Frescos were common
• Stained glass was used

Important innovations
•Development of pier, forms
•Introduction of the triforium gallery (upper aisle)
•The regular crossing
•The inclusion of passages and ambulatories (extension of aisles around
the apsidal sanctuary)
•The evaluation of new concepts in external massing.
•Increasing mastery of architectural sculpture.
•Greater complexity of piers proved to be an effective way of stressing
bay divisions and thus articulating the interior elevations.
•Introduction of half columns most important.

Triforium gallery:
Acquired importance in elevation
Transepts: earlier separate buildings
•Unified design by creating a regular crossing a square or nearly square
bay bordered on each side by arch of equal size
•Crossing was normally surmounted by tower
•Wall passages
•Contained within thickness of the wall. The primary purpose was to
articulate the wall surface by forming small architectural composition of
columns & arches.
•Confined to the upper floors(sections)
•In Italy & Germany they opened outwards,(decorated the exterior wall)
whereas in England they open inside
Ambulatory:
•An ambulatory is the extension of the aisle around the apsidal sanctuary
so that they join creating a continuous curved passageway.
•This is the Romanesque innovation:
• Illustrating admirably the desire to incorporate variety of independent
forms into a single harmonious composition.

Exterior massing
•Characterized to achieve legibility through stressing the
elements which make up an architectural composition.
•Thus the nave, aisles, transepts, crossing, subsidiary
chapels & even stair turrents can be immediately
identified
Architectural sculpture
•Developed dramatically
•Styles of carving vary greatly with region
•Architectural role of sculpture
•Sculptural decoration & carved mouldings are used to
emphasize certain
Architectural features
•Confined to capitals, doorways, windows, arcade
•Angle roll – commonly found on arches, and serve to
create continuity between the shafted pier & the arch
•Doorways received lavish decoration – carved
tympanum

ITALIAN ROMANESQUE
GEOGRAPHICAL:
•Divided into 4 parts-central italy, northern italy, southern italy, sicily.
GEOLOGICAL:
•Stone,brick, concrete, terracotta, marble, and timber.
CLIMATE:
•Varies.
•Somewhere:very hot, moderate, tropical, hence, flat roofs
•Timber roofs in north italy and sicily.
RELIGIOUS:
•Under christian development hence not rich in ornamentation in north italy, in
southern italy under christianity were very ornamented and decorated under
byzantine influence to some extent.
SOCIAL
•Craftsmenship and paintings- encouraged
•Developed commerce.
•New cities were born that promoted new building activities.

ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES:
•Exterior faced with arcades.
•Internal walls- stone –thick
•Circular headed openings
•Pilaster treatments
•Horizontal bands
•Small arches in groups attached to the wall treatments.
.EXAMPLES
Central Italy – Pisa group:
•Pisa cathedral
•Campanile Pisa
•Baptistery Pisa
•Campo Santo

San Giovanni Baptistery
Santa Maria Cathedral
Leaning Tower,
La Torre Pendente

FRENCH ROMANESQUE
PLAN:
•Churches- crociform
•Barrel vaults over aisles- two storey height
•Buttresses were used internally
•High nave with vaultings as roof finishings- principal character
in churches.
WALLS:
•Massive thickness- faced with stones
•Arcades in western side
•Flying buttresses –low height admitting light with clerestory
windows.
•Towers in square form roofed by pyramidical or conical roofs.
OPENINGS:
•Semicircular Arches.
•Coupled columns attached to walls and doorways and
windows
ROOFS:
•Barrel vaults over nave and half barrel vaults on aisle side
usually covered with wooden frame structure with tiles
externally.
EXAMPLES
Angouleme
cathedral

GERMAN ROMANESQUE
PLAN:
•Churches- numerous towers, that were circular, square and polygonal giving
varied skyline.
•vaults over square bays.
WALLS:
•Treated with very decorative details, elegance, beauty .
•Arcaded galleries under eaves around apses on eastern sides
•String courses divided the floors and decorative treatment of bands was rare.
•Conducted horizontally- range of arches
OPENINGS:
•Semicircular Arches
•Doorways- placed on side aisles instead of front of churches
•Openings-treated with attached wall columns and piers surmounted with semi
circular arches.
ROOF:
•Semicircular cross vaults placed on nave of domical nature.
EXAMPLES
Worms cathedral

Romanesque arch mins

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Romanesque arch mins