tympanum

(noun)

In architecture, the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, bounded by a lintel and arch and often containing sculpture or other imagery or ornaments.

Related Terms

(noun)

A triangular space between the sides of a pediment; the space within an arch and above a lintel or a subordinate arch, spanning the opening below the arch.

Related Terms

Examples of tympanum in the following topics:

  • Romanesque Architecture: The Church of Saint-Lazare

    • The West façade of Saint-Lazare contains the tympanum (1130–1135), signed Gislebertus hoc fecit (meaning "Gislebertus made this") within the portico, which is ranked among the masterpieces of Romanesque sculpture in France The sheer size of the tympanum required it to be supported by double lintels, with a middle column to further support the sculpture.
    • The left side of the tympanum displays the rise to the heavenly kingdom, and on the right is a portrayal of the demons in hell with an angel and a devil weighing the souls on a balance.
    • The tympanum would have inspired terror in believers that passed beneath it and viewed the detailed high relief sculpture.
    • Indeed, the bottom of the tympanum underneath the weighing of the souls has an inscription which states, "May this terror terrify those whom earthly error binds for the horror of the images here in this manner truly depicts what will be."
    • The tympanum is framed by two archivolts: the inner has carved foliage, while the outer consists of magnificently detailed medallions representing the four seasons, zodiacs, and labors of the months.

  • Romanesque Art

    • Pictorial compositions usually had little depth and needed to be flexible to squeeze themselves into the shapes of historiated initials, column capitals, and church tympanums.
    • In a significant innovation of the period, the tympanums of important church portals were carved with monumental schemes, often again depicting Christ in Majesty or the Last Judgement but treated with more freedom than painted versions.
    • As there were no equivalent Byzantine models, Romanesque sculptors felt free to expand rather than merely mimic in their treatment of tympanums.

  • Romanesque Sculpture

    • This treatment was adapted to stone carving and is seen particularly in the tympanum above the portal, where the imagery of Christ in Majesty with the symbols of the Four Evangelists is drawn directly from the gilt covers of medieval Gospel Books.
    • The tympanum of Vézelay Abbey in Burgundy, completed in the 1130s, has a great deal of decorative spiral detail in the draperies.

  • Gothic Cathedrals

    • In the arch of the door (the tympanum) is often a significant sculpture representing scenes from Christian Theology, most frequently Christ in Majesty and Judgment Day.

  • Norman Architecture

    • Restrained decoration is seen in concentrated spaces of capitals and round doorways and in the tympanum under an arch.