- Related Topics:
- Ornament
- Gothic architecture
- Cusp
- Foil
Tracery
-
What is tracery in architecture?
Tracery in architecture refers to decorative bars or ribs in windows or other openings, also appearing in relief as wall decoration. It is applicable to window decoration developed in Europe during the Gothic period and pierced marble screens in Mughal India, as well as cement windows in Persia, Turkey, and Egypt.
European tracery likely came from Byzantine designs. During the Gothic period, plate tracery featured tympanums (the space between arches) pierced with simple openings. Later, bar tracery used thin stone bars to separate openings, increasing complexity and lightness. French Rayonnant tracery used different molding sizes, while English Perpendicular style tracery used straight, unbroken mullions.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Where is tracery most commonly found in buildings?
Tracery, characterized by decorative bars or ribs, is commonly found in windows and other openings in architecture. It is also applied to similar forms used in relief as wall decoration, sometimes called blind tracery.
Tracery is applicable to the system of window decoration developed in Europe during the Gothic period and to the pierced marble screens common in Mughal India and the pierced cement windows of Persia, Turkey, and Egypt. Examples of tracery can be seen in the windows of Kingās College Chapel at Cambridge and the rose windows of Notre-Dame de Paris.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What materials are usually used to make tracery?
Tracery utilizes bars or ribs decoratively in windows or other openings and as wall decorations.
During the Gothic period in Europe, tracery developed as a system of window decoration. European tracery likely originated in Byzantine work, which used pierced marble screens.
Early French and English Gothic work used plate tracery, where the tympanum is pierced with a circular or four-lobed opening. After 1220, English designers used thin, stone, upright bars (bar tracery). From about 1240 on, bar tracery became common. French Rayonnant tracery used two molding types, differing according to the size of the mullions, or ribs.
In Islamic architecture, tracery was generally constructed by filling the window area with a pierced sheet of cement and inserting pieces of colored glass into the openings.
In the 20th century, modern materials were introduced, and new techniques were devised, such as precast cement tiles pierced in geometric patterns.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What are the main types of tracery, like plate tracery and bar tracery?
Tracery is decorative bars or ribs in windows or openings, or similar forms as wall decoration. Plate tracery, seen in early French and English Gothic architecture, features tympanum pierced with simple openings, exemplified by windows of Chartres Cathedral and the rose window at Lincoln Cathedral.
After 1220, English designers developed bar tracery, using thin stone bars to create openings. French Rayonnant tracery, around 1240, employed cusped circles and varied molding sizes, as seen in Notre-Dame de Paris's rose windows. In late 14th-century England, the Perpendicular style emphasized verticality, replacing flowing lines with straight mullions connected by horizontal bars, reaching its height in Kingās College Chapel at Cambridge.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did tracery designs change during the Gothic period?
Tracery, decorative bars in windows and openings, evolved significantly during the Gothic period. Originating possibly from Byzantine pierced marble screens, tracery initially appeared as plate tracery in early French and English Gothic architecture, featuring simple piercings in the tympanum.
By 1220, English designers developed bar tracery using thin stone bars, while French designs incorporated cusped circles. Rayonnant tracery in France used varying molding sizes for mullions, exemplified in rose windows like those of Notre-Dame de Paris around 1270.
In late 14th-century England, the Perpendicular style emerged, emphasizing verticality with straight, unbroken mullions connected by horizontal bars, reaching its peak in structures like Kingās College Chapel at Cambridge.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Why is tracery important in the history of architecture?
Tracery is important to the history of architecture as a decorative element in windows and other openings that evolved significantly during the Gothic period in Europe. Originating in Byzantine architecture, tracery developed from simple piercings in the Romanesque period to complex stone bar designs in Gothic structures, enhancing the size and beauty of windows.
The evolution continued through French Rayonnant tracery, which used varied molding sizes for mullions, and the English Perpendicular style, known for its verticality and unbroken lines. Modern tracery incorporates new materials and techniques, while Islamic architecture features pierced cement or marble screens with colorful glass or intricate patterns.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Tracery, in architecture, bars, or ribs, used decoratively in windows or other openings; the term also applies to similar forms used in relief as wall decoration (sometimes called blind tracery) and hence figuratively, to any intricate line pattern. The term is applicable to the system of window decoration developed in Europe during the Gothic period as well as to the pierced marble screens common in Mughal India and the pierced cement windows of Persia, Turkey, and Egypt.
European tracery probably originated in Byzantine work, in which pierced marble screens and groups of two or three narrow, arched windows were placed close together under a single, large arch. After the Romanesque period, during which the tympanum (section of wall between the tops of the smaller arches and the great arch over the whole group) was pierced for decorative effect, tracery flourished. In plate tracery, found in early French and English Gothic work, the tympanum is pierced with a single circular or four-lobed opening. Later, the number and complexity of the piercings was increased, adding size and beauty to the entire unit. The climax of plate tracery appears in the magnificent windows of Chartres Cathedral (12th century) and in the rose window at Lincoln Cathedral (c. 1225), known as the Deanās eye.
After 1220 English designers began to conceive of the tympanum as a series of openings separated only by thin, stone, upright bars (bar tracery). In France a developed type of bar tracery with cusped circles (having pointed bars of stone projecting in toward the centre of the circle) was executed in the apse chapels of Reims Cathedral (prior to 1230). From about 1240 on, bar tracery became common, and it quickly exhibited increased lightness and complexity.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
In contrast to earlier tracery, which had moldings of only one size, French Rayonnant tracery used two molding types, differing according to the size of the mullions, or ribs. Notable examples of French Rayonnant tracery can be seen in rose windows such as those of Notre-Dame de Paris (c. 1270).
By the late 14th century in England, the Perpendicular style, which was based on a striving for verticality, replaced the flowing lines of curvilinear tracery with mullions that were straight and unbroken from bottom to top. At intervals they were connected by horizontal bars running across the windows. The climax of the Perpendicular style in tracery was reached in windows such as those of Kingās College Chapel at Cambridge (1446ā1515).
Twentieth-century tracery introduced modern materials, which are freely combined with more traditional forms, and new tracery techniques were devised, such as precast cement tiles pierced in geometric patterns, glazed, and built up into large windows, as in Notre-Dame at Le Raincy, France (1922ā23), by Auguste Perret.
In Islamic architecture, tracery was generally constructed by filling the window area with a pierced sheet of cement and inserting pieces of coloured glass into the openings, a technique that yielded windows of jewel-like intensity and brilliance. Typical designs consisted of floral and leaf shapes that were arranged to give a sense of flow and growth. Fine examples are the jewelled windows in the 17th-century Mosque of SĆ¼leyman, in Istanbul. In the great Mughal palaces and tombs, large, pointed arch openings are filled with sheets of white marble pierced in elaborate patterns. The most delicate example of this tracery is the sarcophagi screen in the 17th-century Taj Mahal, at Agra, India.
The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.
SUBSCRIBE
