Archivolt

An archivolt (or voussure) is an ornamental moulding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch. It is composed of bands of ornamental mouldings (or other architectural elements) surrounding an arched opening, corresponding to the architrave in the case of a rectangular opening. The word is sometimes used to refer to the under-side or inner curve of the arch itself (more properly, the intrados). Most commonly archivolts are found as a feature of the arches of church portals. The mouldings and sculptures on these archivolts are used to convey a theological story or depict religious figures and ideologies of the church in order to represent the gateway between the holy space of the church and the external world. The presence of archivolts on churches is seen throughout history, although their design, both architecturally and artistically, is heavily influenced by the period they were built in and the churches they were designed for.

The word originates in the Italian (or French) equivalents of the English words arch and vault.

Archivolts are usually found as a part of a church portals, on the underside of the arches above the tympanum, bracketing the lintel and ending on the jamb columns, each archway usually has several layered archivolts. While this basic structure and placement of archivolts is usually present, the specific artistic features of archivolts change frequently as a result of when and where they were designed and what kind of church they are a feature of. The shape of the arch is an example of this, in Gothic portals a pointed archway is iconic, while in Romanesque portals a rounded archway is to be expected. These rounded and pointed features are also seen inside the church, where Gothic churches have pointed vaults, and Romanesque churches have rounded ones.

Archivolts first became a feature on the entrance of churches in France and Spain during the Reconquest. They are believed to have evolved as a compressed version of the nave of a church, the moldings of the layered arches depicting a theological journey from outside the church to the sacred atmosphere inside it.

The use of stone sculpture on the outside of churches was first widely seen in the eleventh century. The later utilisation of these mouldings and sculptures is depicted by Calvin Kendall, “[Church Portals] concerned themselves with the spiritual well-being of worshippers, and they served to create and delineate sacred space.” The use of portals and the mouldings on their archivolts as a separation between the outside public domain and the holy space inside a church was an innovative idea to communicate knowledge about the church and theology observed inside.

As demonstrated by Rudolph Conrad, this evolution in the utilisation of church architecture came about simultaneously with the significant advances of categorising, maintaining and sharing large amounts of information that was happening in the twelfth century. The application of this in the design of archivolts is shown through the complex theological stories and messages that are represented by the detailed design of many archivolts.

The complexity of church portals and the subsequent significance of their mouldings and the designs of their archivolts was first observed on a wide scale on Romanesque churches, seen primarily in the eleventh century through to the early thirteenth century. The Romanesque period of church architecture is when stone sculpture began to become a common feature of church portals, specifically the use of Christ, on the archivolts and surrounds to signify the beginning of holy space. Romanesque portals and archivolts are most often rounded, as seen in Roman architecture. This was significant to the role of the church as both a building and congregational place as during the medieval Romanesque period most people were not able read, so these sculptures were able to depict important events central to the Christian faith and convey ideologies of the church that the public may have otherwise been unable to understand.

Gothic architecture, predominately found between in mid-twelfth century and the sixteenth century was the successor to Romanesque architecture, and is often viewed as the birth of Christian architecture. This is seen in the symbolism of both the artistic and architectural features of Gothic portals and their archivolts. The classic pointed arch of Gothic portals and archivolts is used to direct people’s eyes above, to heaven, a constant reminder of the presence of God and an encouragement to focus on the sacred and heavenly aspects of life, and not the earthly ones.