Tympanum (architecture)

A tympanum (pl.: tympana; from Greek and Latin words meaning "drum") is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, door or window, which is bounded by a lintel and an arch.^[1] It often contains pedimental sculpture or other imagery or ornaments.^[2] Many architectural styles include this element.^[3]

For other uses, see Tympanum (disambiguation).

Alternatively, the tympanum may hold an inscription, or in modern times, a clock face.

History[edit]

In ancient Greek, Roman and Church architecture, tympana of religious buildings often contain pedimental sculpture or mosaics with religious imagery.^[4] A tympanum over a doorway is very often the most important, or only, location for monumental sculpture on the outside of a building. In classical architecture and in classicizing styles from the Renaissance onwards, prominent examples are usually triangular; in Romanesque architecture, tympana more often have a semi-circular shape or that of a thinner slice from the top of a circle, and in Gothic architecture they have a more vertical shape, coming to a point at the top. These shapes naturally influence the typical compositions of any sculpture within the tympanum.

The upper portion of a gable when enclosed with a horizontal belt course, is also termed a tympanum.^[5]

Bands of molding surrounding the tympanum are called the archivolt.^[6]

In medieval French architecture, the tympanum is often supported by a decorated pillar called a trumeau.

Baroque tympanum in the Queen's Bedroom in the Louvre Palace, Paris, by Michel Anguier and Pietro Sasso, with a painting of Judith and Holophernes, by Giovanni Francesco Romanelli, 1655^[7]