Pediment

The pediment is found in classical Greek temples, Etruscan, Roman, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical and Beaux-Arts architecture. A prominent example is the Parthenon, where it contains a tympanum decorated with figures in relief sculpture. This architectural element was developed in the architecture of ancient Greece and first appeared as gable ends of Greek temples. In ancient Rome, the Renaissance, and later architectural revivals, the pediment was used as a non-structural element over windows, doors and aediculae. Some used to protect windows and openings from weather.[2] As classical architecture moved to Britain during the Renaissance, pediments wouldn't fit with the steeply pitched roofs and became detached from the structure to only create an impression.[3] The form of the pediment is dictated by the primary function of the roof which in several areas is the dismissal of rainwater.[2]

A variant is the "segmental" or "arch" pediment, where the normal angular slopes of the cornice are replaced by one in the form of a segment of a circle, in the manner of a depressed arch. Both traditional and segmental pediments have "broken" and "open" forms. In the broken pediment the raking cornice is left open at the apex. The open pediment is open along the base – often " sculpture, "tondo" paintings, mirrors or windows. These forms were adopted in Mannerist architecture, and applied to furniture designed by Thomas Chippendale. The terms "open pediment" and "broken pediment" are often used interchangeably.[4] Another variant is the swan's neck pediment and is a refinement of a broken pediment with two "S"-shaped profiles resembling a swan's neck. Non-triangular variations of pediments are usually found over doors, windows, and porches.[5]

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  One of the few sections of the sculpture of the pediment of the Parthenon still in place; others are the Elgin marbles in the British Museum (London)
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  Illustrations with the sculptures of the two pediments of the Parthenon, by James Stuart & Nicholas Revett in 1794
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  Segmental pediment of the Library of Celsus (Ephesus, Turkey)
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  The Madeleine Church in Paris. The sculpture from the pediment (1830-1837) by Pierre-Jean David depict St Geneviève[6]
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  Pediment above a window of the Louvre, supported by a pair of corbels
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  Two windows with pediments on a house from Bucharest (Romania)
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  Window with a pediment above it, on Calea Moșilor (a historic street and a major road in Bucharest)
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  Pediment with sculptures at an entrance of the National Museum of Romanian History (Bucharest)
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  The pediment above the entrance of Hala Traian, in Bucharest. Under it is written MDCCCXCVI (1896)
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  Swan-neck pediment of a house which is now a shop, in Bucharest
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  Door with a broken and open pediment, with a cartouche in it
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  Door with a pediment, a Doric frieze and two Doric columns, in Dublin (Ireland)
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  18th century design for a pediment with two heraldic crests, lions and a crown, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
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  18th century design for a pediment with a pair of putti, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
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  Pediment with a coat of arms in it, above a door from Leeuwarden (the Netherlands)
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  Pediment of the Théâtre de la reine, part of the Petit Trianon (France)

• Classical architecture
• Gable
• Pedimental sculptures in the United States
• Temple (Greek)
• Temple (Roman)

• Dictionary of Ornament by Philippa Lewis & Gillian Darley (1986) NY: Pantheon

Wikimedia Commons has media related to pediments.

• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "pediment" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.