Frieze in architecture is a great opportunity to diversify the appearance of the building

2025 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2025-01-24 17:46

We used to decorate the walls of our houses only with wallpaper and baguettes. But besides this, your interior can be diversified with the help of many other ways. In this article, we will talk about what a frieze is in architecture. Photos with examples of various ways to use it, information about what and how it is made from, will be present in the text. People with different incomes can afford to decorate their home with friezes, because they come in different shapes and sizes, they are made not only from expensive, but also from the cheapest materials. It is not necessary to use them, placing them around the entire perimeter of the structure. It is enough to frame the most important part, such as the facade.

What is a frieze

The frieze in architecture is the wide central part of the entablature, it can be of the Ionic or Doric order or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even if there are no columns or pilasters, the frieze is located on the architrave (which is the lower part of the entablature), and is crowned with a cornice. The frieze is used in the architecture of ancient Greek temples, palaces, the most famous and skillful of them -Parthenon, you can cite the ancient octagonal tower of the winds in Athens as an example.

Also, the frieze is found in the architectural style of classicism. Let's take the city of St. Petersburg as an example, where a frieze is often found in architecture. These are the Kazan Cathedral, the Winter Palace, the Tauride Palace and so on.

What material are friezes made of

There are a lot of materials for their creation. Some can afford to decorate the friezes of their palaces with gold leaf, carve them from wood, ivory or various types of stones, PVC, cast from plaster, plaster, and also from high quality steel.

You can often find gypsum friezes, as they are easier and less expensive to make. A ready-made silicone mold is taken, then liquid gypsum is poured. After drying, they can decorate the premises of the rooms. But, as you know, it is unacceptable for gypsum to be at high humidity, as it will begin to collapse. So they do not decorate the facades of buildings, only the premises.

Where friezes are applied

In the simplest sense of the word, a frieze in architecture is a stripe decorated with ornaments or reliefs. Usually they decorate the upper part of the structure, in the rooms - ceilings and walls. They decorate buildings and not only facades. A frieze strip can frame the entire perimeter of the building. It can be placed on temples, palaces, towers and even bridges, depending on what the architect had in mind. And I wonder what an arched frieze is in architecture. We tend to hear that hehappens on buildings. But where exactly? Just it is placed above everything that can resemble or be an arch - above the window, the main entrance (usually it has a large door that cannot do without a frieze), a balcony and, finally, above the arch. An example is the arch of the General Staff building on the Palace Square.

Friezes also decorate the interior. For example, it is placed under the ceiling or above the door. The same principle is a narrow or wide strip filled with reliefs with various plots or plain ornaments. A frieze imitation is also used - a regular flat or convex sticker.

In what buildings are friezes found

Maison Carré in Nimes (16 BC). In this photo you can see that here the frieze in architecture is a strip located along the perimeter of the temple on top of the capitals of the columns.

As a rule, Greek and Roman temples had either a frieze or alternating triglyphs and metopes instead, but sometimes (as in the Parthenon) other details may be present in the architecture of the temple.

In India, for example, there are friezes on the temple of the sun in Konark. These friezes are not necessarily above the columns, they can be used in different places in the temple.

In Russia, a striking example of the use of friezes is the Kazan Cathedral, located in St. Petersburg. They crown the columns of the temple, but do not differ in intricate forms.

What happens on friezes

During construction, depending on the budget, onfriezes can be located three-dimensional sculptures or reliefs of various sizes. Popular images are stories from ancient Greek myths, biblical characters or events. Greek deities such as Aphrodite, Cupid and Psyche, Apollo, beautiful nymphs and others can be placed.

What is depicted on the frieze depends on the purpose of the building. The library will correspond to the frieze with the goddess of wisdom Minerva, at the academy of arts or the theater, Apollo with his muses will probably be depicted, on the courthouse - the goddess of justice Themis, at the registry office - small cupids. That's what an arched frieze is. In the architecture of the temple, it is usually complex and with a lot of details. But what budget was included in the construction, so the frieze can be made. Ordinary ornaments are also used, which do not have a specific meaning, and are used only as decoration.