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have prompted its choice.
The Arch of Triumph seen in the entrance to Baçaim Fort is another variant on the motif (Fig. 6). This example is in a style that, without generalising too much, could be said to have belonged to a Late Renaissance Iberian style in architecture. For self-evident reasons specialists have given it the name estilo chão (plain style) for Portuguese buildings and estilo desornamentado (unadorned style) for Spanish ones.
32
Thin moulded pilasters frame a rectangle into which the entrance arch is built. The latter was framed by both moulded pilasters and paired Corinthian columns in the round, today missing. Topping the arch is an entablature with a low relief showing the royal arms of Portugal. Above it one may see a niche framed by coupled half-columns for an image of a Christian saint, a feature that differentiates it from a classical Roman Arch. The columns of the niche and the ones below stood on bases decorated with a simple diamond shape.
These two examples show a characteristic use of the motif in secular structures. But it is its use in religious architecture that is of greater relevance for this discussion. In this respect the Sé or Episcopal Church, Damão, shows one of the most illuminating examples.
Constantino de Bragança, Viceroy of India, captured the Muslim city of Damão, which lies in the southern coast of Gujarat, in 1559. One of the most satisfactory uses of the Arch of Triumph in a plain style in India is to be found in the portal of the city's Sé or Episcopal Church (Fig. 7).
The charmingly provincial mathematical simplicity of its elevation consists of an acute triangle placed on a rectangle. The triangle in fact delineates a steep gable with a round window, while the rectangle on which it rests is the wall of the main façade. Its ground plan and interior are equally simple, the latter displaying picturesque whitewashed walls.
The only embellishment on the façade is the large Arch of Triumph, which stands austere in granite in front of the wall. It is quite similar to that of the ruins of Baçaim Fort, except that here paired classical columns on tall pedestals frame only the main arch. On the entablature above flat pilasters and a pediment, united to the lower storey by segmental
140
have prompted its choice.
The Arch of Triumph seen in the entrance to Baçaim Fort is another variant on the motif (Fig. 6). This example is in a style that, without generalising too much, could be said to have belonged to a Late Renaissance Iberian style in architecture. For self-evident reasons specialists have given it the name estilo chão (plain style) for Portuguese buildings and estilo desornamentado (unadorned style) for Spanish ones.
32
Thin moulded pilasters frame a rectangle into which the entrance arch is built. The latter was framed by both moulded pilasters and paired Corinthian columns in the round, today missing. Topping the arch is an entablature with a low relief showing the royal arms of Portugal. Above it one may see a niche framed by coupled half-columns for an image of a Christian saint, a feature that differentiates it from a classical Roman Arch. The columns of the niche and the ones below stood on bases decorated with a simple diamond shape.
These two examples show a characteristic use of the motif in secular structures. But it is its use in religious architecture that is of greater relevance for this discussion. In this respect the Sé or Episcopal Church, Damão, shows one of the most illuminating examples.
Constantino de Bragança, Viceroy of India, captured the Muslim city of Damão, which lies in the southern coast of Gujarat, in 1559. One of the most satisfactory uses of the Arch of Triumph in a plain style in India is to be found in the portal of the city's Sé or Episcopal Church (Fig. 7).
The charmingly provincial mathematical simplicity of its elevation consists of an acute triangle placed on a rectangle. The triangle in fact delineates a steep gable with a round window, while the rectangle on which it rests is the wall of the main façade. Its ground plan and interior are equally simple, the latter displaying picturesque whitewashed walls.
The only embellishment on the façade is the large Arch of Triumph, which stands austere in granite in front of the wall. It is quite similar to that of the ruins of Baçaim Fort, except that here paired classical columns on tall pedestals frame only the main arch. On the entablature above flat pilasters and a pediment, united to the lower storey by segmental
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