, from the
Temple of Artemis, Corfu, about 580–570 BCE, now
Archaeological Museum of Corfu.
Ancient Greek architecture The pediment begins in
Ancient Greek architecture; according to the mid-fifth century BCE poet
Pindar, it was a
Corinthian invention. It is possible that it was devised specifically to contain sculpture, which from the early 6th century became "customary (though never obligatory)" in
Doric temples; in
Ionic ones it was a "rarity". A difference between the
ancient Greek temple and temples of other, older, cultures of the
Near East was that the visual effect and decoration of the exterior exceeded that of the interiors and exteriors behind the main facade. Like the other forms of exterior decoration such as statues,
antefixes, and
acroteria, the pedimental sculptures were originally in
terracotta and coloured. The "earliest pedimental composition to have survived," from the
Early Archaic Period, was from the
Temple of Artemis, Corfu, about 580–570 BCE. Large parts of the sculptural group are in the
Archaeological Museum of Corfu, including the central figure of the winged
gorgon Medusa, flanked by two crouching lions. Richter points out that the "weak points are the lack of concerted action and unity as well as the ludicrously small scale of the side figures compared with the central Gorgon." Gorgons and gorgon heads were the most common early pedimental sculptures, as an architectural version of the
gorgoneion apotropaic amulet, which both
Athena and
Zeus are said to have worn as a
pendant. Greek temples with pediment sculptures usually had them at both ends of the temple, and tended to have contrasting scenes, one perhaps a peaceful scene with deities, and the other with a battle or dramatic scene from mythology. ,
Siphnian Treasury at
Delphi (about 525 BCE) Over the next decades refinements were made in the design and carving of pedimental sculpture, the small "Hydra pediment" in Athens (about 570 BCE), the "Bluebeard pediment from the 'old Athena temple' the
Siphnian Treasury at
Delphi (about 525 BCE), the
Megarian Treasury at
Olympia (about 520–510 BCE), the temple to
Aphaia at
Aigina (about 500–480 BCE), the
Temple of Zeus at Olympia (about 465–460 BCE, the remains of the
Eastern pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia are in the site museum) and others, but "they did not satisfy the Greek sculptor for long." Finally, in the
Parthenon pediments (about 438–432) "we reach the climax of Greek pedimental composition". After the Parthenon there is no outstanding pedimental composition, at least now known. In the late or Hellenistic phase of
Etruscan art, after about 300 BCE, Greek-style groups were introduced, but in
terracotta rather than stone; some large fragments of these have survived. The Romans also used terracotta, but also stone for the grandest temples. An
Amazonomachy in marble on the
Temple of Apollo Sosianus in Rome, whose fragments were excavated in the 1930s, is thought to be a Greek work of the 5th century BCE, removed by the Romans from a temple there in the 1st century CE. Allusions to the recent
Battle of Actium have been proposed. The group on the final rebuilding of the Capitoline
Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus is known from literary descriptions and depictions in other works of art, but none of it is known to survive.
The Parthenon and
metopes in place on the west pediment; the 3rd and 4th figures from the left below. The Parthenon's west pediment depicted the contest between Athena and Poseidon over Attica and the east pediment the birth of Athena. Classical archeologists since
Johann Joachim Winckelmann's
Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums (published 1764) have recognized Greek pediment sculpture, in particular the pediments of the Parthenon, as the standard of the highest-quality art in antiquity. For Martin Schede, writing in 1923, the remains of limestone pediments, although "badly shattered indeed," represented "the highest artistic achievement of two generations of a most artistic people," the value of which was impossible to overestimate. The travel writer Solomon Charles Kaines Smith specifically named the "Three Fates" of the east pediment the "highest surviving achievement of Greek sculpture," and for Wincklemann's contemporary
Ennio Quirino Visconti the Parthenon pediments "met the criteria for the best artists of the best period." The Parthenon compositions are considered to be the
magnum opus of Classical pedimental decoration. Awareness of the Parthenon pediments, almost the only classical example to substantially survive
in situ to the Renaissance, and eventually highly influential, increased only gradually in Western Europe. They were first drawn, not accurately, in 1436 by
Ciriaco de' Pizzicolli. It grew significantly over the 17th century, especially as numerous careful drawings were made in
Athens in 1674 by
Jacques Carrey, a member of
Charles Le Brun's workshop, who was sent in the suite of
Charles Marie François Olier, marquis de Nointel, the French ambassador to
Constantinople to make drawings. These were made before the sculptures were greatly damaged in an explosion in 1687. The drawings had all reached Paris by Carrey's return in 1679, and contain crucial evidence as to the original appearance of the portions that were destroyed. The
British Museum holds 17 figurative pedimental sculptures from the Parthenon, as part of the so-called
Elgin Marbles, in their permanent collection. The rest of the pedimental sculpture from the Parthenon is now on display in the
Acropolis Museum at Athens. ; the quarrel between
Athena and
Poseidon to be the
tutelary deity of Athens.
Post-classical Sculptures above lintels continued to be produced, indeed became more common, in post-classical architectural styles, but in recent times the medieval examples tend not to be called "pedimental sculptures", although it is technically correct to do so. "Tympanum reliefs" is a more common term, as these are now mostly in a relatively low relief, and less than life-size, as they are lower down the building, over doorways, and so closer to the observer than on classical temples. They are typically framed by round tops in
Romanesque architecture, and pointed
Gothic arch shapes in
Gothic architecture. In both cases the composition was often arranged in tiers, with many small figures making up a Christian scene, sometimes dominated by a much larger
Christ in Majesty or a
Virgin Mary. There are often supporting figures on the
archivolts to the sides, and on the
lintel below.
Renaissance and Baroque 's
Tempietto Barbaro (c. 1583) The low triangular pediment was revived, initially mainly for the main facade of churches, in
Renaissance architecture, but at first the triangular tympanum was left plain or only decorated with a round window, or sometimes a round motif such as a star. The cathedral at
Pienza (c. 1460), with the
coat of arms of
Pope Pius II is one of the earliest examples to feature the arms of the donor of the church. This became common by the next century, as at
Saint Peter's Basilica and the
Church of the Gesù (completed 1584), both in Rome. Heraldic sculpture was to remain extremely common in tympani, especially as the triangular pediment spread to large houses. both buildings by
Christopher Wren, and the
Royal Palace of Amsterdam (1655, built as the City Hall). The expansion of the
Louvre Palace under
Louis XIV included much pedimental sculpture filling various shapes of tympanum. Buildings with military connections could surround heraldic devices with trophies of arms and armour to fill the whole space, as at
Blenheim Palace and many Central European palaces, such as
Nieborów Palace (on both fronts, in stucco). Otherwise, flanking angels or
winged Victory figures,
strapwork or other ornamental motifs, could fill the rest of the triangle. Heraldic sculptures File:Historic Centre of the City of Pienza-111586.jpg|Cathedral at
Pienza (c. 1460), with the
coat of arms of
Pope Pius II File:San pietro, stemma borghese.JPG|
Saint Peter's Basilica,
Borghese arms of
Pope Paul IV, 1550s File:Blenheim Palace (portico).jpg|
Blenheim Palace, 1710s, with trophies of arms. File:Poland-00580 - Działyński Palace (29733493963).jpg|
Działyński Palace,
Poznań, Poland, 1773 - 1776
Neoclassicism , Madrid, pediment sculpture by
Agustí Querol Subirats, 1892–1903 The arrival of
Neoclassical architecture favoured the return of large free-standing figure compositions in the pediments of important buildings, with
Vilnius Cathedral (by 1783) one of the earliest in the style. They remained popular during the 19th century, now used for additional types of buildings such as museums, stock exchanges, legislature buildings, law courts, banks and town halls.
Allegorical groups became typical on secular buildings. The pediment over the main entrance of the
British Museum has
The Progress of Civilisation by Sir
Richard Westmacott, consisting of fifteen figures, installed in 1852, well after the main building.
Westmacott's son sculpted the comparable pediment of the
Royal Exchange, London; It represents the
Last Judgement, with Jesus Christ in the centre, and was completed between 1826 and 1834; it is in length, and tall at its apex. ,
Philadelphia Museum of Art, sculptor
C. Paul Jennewein, 1933 In the United States, many government buildings in Washington DC carry large groups, as well as numerous
State Capitols and important courthouses.
Drafting the Declaration of Independence on the
Jefferson Memorial, by
Adolph Alexander Weinman (1943) is an exception to the usual allegorical subject matter, showing the
Committee of Five around a table. Since World War II relatively few new groups have been created.
Architectural terracotta was sometimes used, as at the
department store Harrods in London (glazed, by
Royal Doulton), and (in polychrome) at the
Philadelphia Museum of Art in the 1930s. The
Victoria and Albert Museum has a
mosaic group, for which there are medieval Italian precedents. == Format ==