Atlas (architecture)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Atlantid" redirects here. For the family of sea snails, see
Atlantids. For the racial category, see Atlantid race
.
Baroque atlas at St. Florian Monastery, Austria, by Leonhard Sattler
Porta Nuova, Palermo
Beaux Arts atlantes on Rue Saint-Roch no. 45, Paris, by Bruno Pellissier
, 1917

In European architectural sculpture, an atlas (also known as an atlant, or atlante[1] or atlantid; plural atlantes)[2] is a support sculpted in the form of a man, which may take the place of a column, a pier or a pilaster. The Roman term for such a sculptural support is telamon (plural telamones or telamons).[2]

The term atlantes is the Greek plural of the name

Ajax
.

The

herma
or herm is a classical boundary marker or wayside monument to a god which is usually a square pillar with only a carved head on top, about life-size, and male genitals at the appropriate mid-point. Figures that are rightly called Atlantes may sometimes be described as herms.

Atlantes express extreme effort in their function, heads bent forward to support the weight of the structure above them across their shoulders, forearms often lifted to provide additional support, providing an architectural motif. Atlantes and caryatids were noted by the Roman late Republican architect Vitruvius, whose description of the structures,[4] rather than surviving examples, transmitted the idea of atlantes to the Renaissance architectural vocabulary.

Origin

Not only did the Caryatids precede them, but similar architectural figures already had been made in

Greek temple of Zeus, the Olympeion, in Agrigento, Sicily.[5] Atlantes also played a significant role in Mannerist and Baroque architecture
.

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the designs of many buildings featured glorious atlantes that looked much like Greek originals. Their inclusion in the final design for the portico of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg that was built for Tsar Nicholas I of Russia in the 1840’s made the use of atlantes especially fashionable. The Hermitage portico incorporates ten enormous atlantes, approximately three times life-size, carved from Serdobol granite, which were designed by Johann Halbig and executed by the sculptor Alexander Terebenev.

Mesoamerica

Similar carved stone columns or pillars in the shape of fierce men at some sites of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica are typically called Atlantean figures. These figures are considered to be "massive statues of Toltec warriors".[6]

Examples

Gallery

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Atlantes.
New International Encyclopedia article "Atlantes
".
  1. ^ Hersey, George, The Lost Meaning of Classical Architecture, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1998 p. 129
  2. ^ a b Aru-Az' Archived 2008-07-04 at the Wayback Machine, Michael Delahunt, ArtLex Art Dictionary Archived 2005-04-24 at the Wayback Machine, 1996–2008.
  3. ^ Harris, Cyril M., ed., Illustrated Dictionary of Historic Architecture, Dover Publications, New York, 1983.
  4. ^ Vitruvius, De Architectura, 6.7.6.
  5. ^ "Dorothy King, "Doric Figured Supports: Vitruvius' Caryatids and Atlantes: 5.2 Atlantes and Telamones"".[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ Evans, Susan (2008). Ancient Mexico and Central America: Archaeology and Culture History. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. p. 42.
  7. ISBN 978-0-500-02236-8
    .
  8. ISBN 978-0-7148-7925-3
    .
  9. ISBN 978-1-78840-176-0
    .
  10. ISBN 978-1-78840-176-0
    .
  11. ISBN 978-1-905462-21-6
    .
  12. ^ "Café Bibent". pop.culture.gouv.fr. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  13. ISBN 978-973-1872-03-2
    .
  14. ^ "34, avenue Matignon". www.pss-archi.eu. Retrieved 19 November 2023.

Bibliography

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlas_(architecture)&oldid=1227942551"