An arcature (also called a blind arcade) is an ornamental series of small arches applied to a wall surface without any actual openings behind them. It serves a purely decorative purpose, adding rhythm, shadow, and visual depth to otherwise flat masonry walls, and is one of the signature motifs of Romanesque architecture.
Application
Arcatures appear on churches, cathedrals, castles, and civic buildings dating from the 10th to the 13th century, though they continued to be used in later revival styles. Their characteristics and applications include:
- Wall articulation: Arcatures break up large, plain wall surfaces into visually engaging compositions. The play of light and shadow across the small arches creates a sense of depth and texture.
- Romanesque churches: They are most commonly found beneath the roofline (as a corbel table), around apses, on bell towers, and along nave walls. Italian Romanesque architecture, in particular, features elaborate multi-layered arcatures.
- Interlacing arcatures: A variant where the arches overlap one another in an interlocking pattern, creating a more complex decorative effect. This is especially prevalent in Norman architecture in England and Sicily.
- Colonnade arcatures: Some arcatures include miniature columns (colonnettes) supporting the arches, adding a three-dimensional quality and resembling a small-scale colonnade.
- Materials: Typically carved in stone, though brick arcatures are also common in regions where brick was the primary building material (such as northern Germany and the Low Countries).
- Modern use: Arcatures appear in neo-Romanesque and neo-Gothic revival buildings of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and occasionally in contemporary buildings referencing historical styles.
The term derives from the Latin “arcus” (arch) and refers specifically to the miniature scale that distinguishes an arcature from a full-sized arcade.
Related terms
- Blind arcade
- Corbel table
- Lombard band
- Colonnade
- Romanesque frieze
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