triumphal arch

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triumphal arch. A large, free-standing, decorative gateway erected to honour an important person or event. This type of structure originated in ancient Rome and initially the term alluded to a celebratory parade called a triumph that was awarded to a general who had won a particularly great victory; such generals led their troops into Rome through a special triumphal gate. At first triumphal arches were temporary structures, but from the 1st century bc some were built of permanent materials; they were also erected for purposes other than honouring generals, such as commemorating a new emperor. Examples were built throughout the Roman Empire, but most are in Italy, and three famous examples survive in Rome itself, each one decorated with notable sculpture.

The Arch of Titus (c. ad 81) has two large, dignified (although rather damaged) reliefs in the passageway depicting Titus' victory procession for the capture of Jerusalem in 70; it was erected by his brother Domitian, who succeeded him as emperor in 81. The Arch of Septimius Severus (203), erected to celebrate this emperor's victories against the Parthians and to establish the legitimacy of his new dynasty, is larger and more ornate, with extremely lavish sculptural decoration; indeed, ‘As a vehicle for imperial propaganda the arch of Septimius Severus was the biggest “billboard” yet erected’ ( Donald Strong, Roman Art, 1976). The Arch of Constantine (dedicated in 315 to mark his victory over Maxentius and to celebrate the first decade of his reign) is the largest of all Roman triumphal arches and perhaps the most dignified. It has even more sculptural ornament than the Arch of Septimius Severus, some of it made specially for the purpose but much of it cannibalized from monuments of the previous two centuries. The contemporary sculpture is very different in style from the earlier pieces, the figures being dumpy in proportions and un-classical in feeling. To many critics this stylistic gulf has been taken as an indication of a profound decline in Roman art, marking the virtual end of the classical world as Christianity rose to power. Bernard Berenson, for example, wrote a book entitled The Arch of Constantine, or, The Decline of Form (1954). However, serious students of the subject now consider this kind of condemnation outmoded: ‘Nothing could be less classical than the style and technique of the sculpture; but there is something very effective about it as a means of conveying the character of the occasion in each case’ (Strong).

triumphal arch. Type of formal gateway set over an axis to commemorate a victory or individual. In Roman Antiquity there were two basic kinds: a tall rectangular structure with a single arch (e.g. Arch of Titus, Rome (c. ad 81)); and an even grander building containing a large arch flanked by two smaller and lower arches (e.g. Arch of Septimius Severus, Rome (ad 203) ). In the history of architecture triumphal arches are important not only because they were precedents for many later such structures, but because they combined the arcuated and columnar and trabeated methods of construction. The Antique Roman type consisted of a large rectangular mass of masonry pierced by one or three parallel arches cut through the wider sides, with an engaged or applied Order, invariably set on pedestals, and a large Attic-storey over the entablature usually carrying a grandiose inscription. In the Titus arch the panel with inscription was set on the Attic over the single wide arch, but in the Septimius Severus arch the inscription stretched almost the full width of the Attic. Other arches of the three-arched type include the ‘Arch of Tiberius’, Orange, France (late C1 bc), and the Arch of Constantine, Rome (c.312–15).

The triumphal arch was quoted by Alberti for the front of the Church of San Francesco, Rimini (from 1446), and for the inside and west front of the Church of Sant'Andrea, Mantua (designed 1470): it was used on countless Renaissance façades in various combinations and transformations as it offered almost limitless possibilities for enrichment. It was often used as a centrepiece (e.g. the south front of Kedleston, Derbys., by Robert Adam (1759–70), and the Avenue d'Antin entrance to the Grand Palais, Paris, by Deglane, Louvet, and Thomas (1900) ), but was also revived as a free-standing monument during the Neo-Classical period (e.g. Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, Paris, by Percier and Fontaine (1805–9) ). Some later triumphal arches were designed to have extra arches at 90° to the main axis (e.g. Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, Paris, by Chalgrin and others (1806–36), and the Thiepval Arch, Somme, by Lutyens (1920s)).

Bibliography

J. Curl (2001);
Mansuelli et al. (1979);
Meeks (1966);
M. Nilsson (1932);
Jane Turner (1996);
Watkin (1986);
Westfehling (1977)

triumphal arch Massive masonry structure, containing one, two or three arches covered with a flat, oblong attic. Triumphal arches were originally built by the Romans to commemorate specific victories, and in imperial times only emperors could pass through them. They were decorated with bronze statuary and carved scenes. See also Arc de Triomphe; arch