DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.42778#0188
n6 THE ARCHITECTURE OF ANCIENT ROME.
smaller passage ways being doubtless transformed niches, which
were made to serve for the convenience of foot passengers. The
general heaviness of the proportions, owing to the addition of an
extra storey (rendered necessary by the fact that the pediments
were carried up into the attic) is probably an indication of early
date, as are the pediments themselves. Among the unique features
of the arch is the elaborate decoration of the sides, which bear, in
addition to the angle columns, two similar columns ; they also have
a tympanum above the columns (the ends of which destroy the line
of the cornice on the front) and are decorated with reliefs. The
semi-engaged columns between the arches and the three-quarter
detached columns at the angles are raised on pedestals and are all
Corinthian.
The reign of Tiberius provides us with the earliest example (17
a.d.) of an arch with two passage ways, at Saintes, in France. Only
one other example is known, at Announa in N. Africa (third century,
a.d.)1, though in town gates the type is familiar enough, and there
are sometimes two lateral arches for foot passengers as in the Porta
Augustea at Nimes. Otherwise there are almost no arches of the first
century a.d. remaining until we come to the Arch of Titus on the
Sacra Via in Rome (Plate LV), erected in 82 a.d., after his death, to
commemorate the taking of Jerusalem. There is only one central
archway, and the columns which flank it, and those on the angles,
are only semi or three-quarter detached, so that they form part of
the actual core of the structure, and are not purely decorative
adjuncts as in the Arch of Constantine. The ornamental faces of the
pilasters supporting the impost are now turned towards the passage-
way instead of towards the fagades. The beauty of the figure
sculpture is greatly enhanced by the simplicity of the masonry1
throughout, when contrasted with that of the Arches of Constantine
and Septimius Severus. The barrel vault of the archway is sunk
with deep coffers and enrichments, in the centre being a relief of
the apotheosis of Titus. The famous reliefs on each side below the
vault represent on one side the Emperor drawn in his triumphal car
led by Roma and crowned by Victory, and on the other the spoils
taken from the Temple of Jerusalem. The execution of the sculp-
tures in the frieze is far inferior. The columns decorating the
archway are of the Composite Order, and are the earliest examples
1 The sides were restored in 1822, the arch having been up till that time
embedded in mediaeval fortifications.
smaller passage ways being doubtless transformed niches, which
were made to serve for the convenience of foot passengers. The
general heaviness of the proportions, owing to the addition of an
extra storey (rendered necessary by the fact that the pediments
were carried up into the attic) is probably an indication of early
date, as are the pediments themselves. Among the unique features
of the arch is the elaborate decoration of the sides, which bear, in
addition to the angle columns, two similar columns ; they also have
a tympanum above the columns (the ends of which destroy the line
of the cornice on the front) and are decorated with reliefs. The
semi-engaged columns between the arches and the three-quarter
detached columns at the angles are raised on pedestals and are all
Corinthian.
The reign of Tiberius provides us with the earliest example (17
a.d.) of an arch with two passage ways, at Saintes, in France. Only
one other example is known, at Announa in N. Africa (third century,
a.d.)1, though in town gates the type is familiar enough, and there
are sometimes two lateral arches for foot passengers as in the Porta
Augustea at Nimes. Otherwise there are almost no arches of the first
century a.d. remaining until we come to the Arch of Titus on the
Sacra Via in Rome (Plate LV), erected in 82 a.d., after his death, to
commemorate the taking of Jerusalem. There is only one central
archway, and the columns which flank it, and those on the angles,
are only semi or three-quarter detached, so that they form part of
the actual core of the structure, and are not purely decorative
adjuncts as in the Arch of Constantine. The ornamental faces of the
pilasters supporting the impost are now turned towards the passage-
way instead of towards the fagades. The beauty of the figure
sculpture is greatly enhanced by the simplicity of the masonry1
throughout, when contrasted with that of the Arches of Constantine
and Septimius Severus. The barrel vault of the archway is sunk
with deep coffers and enrichments, in the centre being a relief of
the apotheosis of Titus. The famous reliefs on each side below the
vault represent on one side the Emperor drawn in his triumphal car
led by Roma and crowned by Victory, and on the other the spoils
taken from the Temple of Jerusalem. The execution of the sculp-
tures in the frieze is far inferior. The columns decorating the
archway are of the Composite Order, and are the earliest examples
1 The sides were restored in 1822, the arch having been up till that time
embedded in mediaeval fortifications.