Entasis
In architecture, entasis is the application of a convex curve to a surface for aesthetic purposes. Its best-known use is in certain orders of Classical columns that curve slightly as their diameter is decreased from the bottom upwards. In the Hellenistic period some columns with entasis are cylindrical in their lower parts. Some Roman columns are 'cigar-shaped', with the widest point some distance above the foot, but this is unusual and to most eyes unattractive.
The word derives from the Greek word ἐντείνειν, to stretch tightly.
ExamplesProbably the first use of entasis was in the construction of the Egyptian pyramids, but it can also be observed in Classical period Greek column designs, for example in the Doric-order temples in Segesta, Selinus, Agrigento and Paestum. It was used less in Hellenistic and Roman period architecture.[citation needed] The temples built during these periods were higher than those of the Greeks, with longer and thinner columns. Noted architects such as the Renaissance master Andrea Palladio also used it in their buildings.
More recently, Rolls-Royce cars all made use of it in their radiator grilles to give an illusion of greater solidity.
Purpose
Entasis columns at Hōryū-ji, JapanThe early Classical builders did not leave an explanation of their reasons for using entasis, and there are several differing opinions as to its purpose. Some descriptions of entasis[1] state simply that the technique was an enhancement applied to the more primitive conical columns to make them appear more substantial. Trevelyan believed that the effect represented strength by imitating the swelling of a strained muscle.[2] This accords well with the etymology of the word, from the Greek meaning 'to strain'.[3]
Basilica at PaestumAnother popular view, espoused by Hero of Alexandria, is that entasis corrects the optical illusion of concavity in the columns which the fallible human eye would create if a correction were not made.[4] However, it does not explain the case of one well-known example, Paestum, where the entasis is so pronounced that it creates an obvious curvature, not an illusion of straightness.
It has also been argued that a 'stunted cycloid' column that bulges in the middle is stronger than a column with straight sides.[5]
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Entasis
In architecture, entasis is the application of a convex curve to a surface for aesthetic purposes. Its best-known use is in certain orders of Classical columns that curve slightly as their diameter is decreased from the bottom upwards. In the Hellenistic period some columns with entasis are cylindrical in their lower parts. Some Roman columns are 'cigar-shaped', with the widest point some distance above the foot, but this is unusual and to most eyes unattractive.
The word derives from the Greek word ἐντείνειν, to stretch tightly.
ExamplesProbably the first use of entasis was in the construction of the Egyptian pyramids, but it can also be observed in Classical period Greek column designs, for example in the Doric-order temples in Segesta, Selinus, Agrigento and Paestum. It was used less in Hellenistic and Roman period architecture.[citation needed] The temples built during these periods were higher than those of the Greeks, with longer and thinner columns. Noted architects such as the Renaissance master Andrea Palladio also used it in their buildings.
More recently, Rolls-Royce cars all made use of it in their radiator grilles to give an illusion of greater solidity.
Purpose
Entasis columns at Hōryū-ji, JapanThe early Classical builders did not leave an explanation of their reasons for using entasis, and there are several differing opinions as to its purpose. Some descriptions of entasis[1] state simply that the technique was an enhancement applied to the more primitive conical columns to make them appear more substantial. Trevelyan believed that the effect represented strength by imitating the swelling of a strained muscle.[2] This accords well with the etymology of the word, from the Greek meaning 'to strain'.[3]
Basilica at PaestumAnother popular view, espoused by Hero of Alexandria, is that entasis corrects the optical illusion of concavity in the columns which the fallible human eye would create if a correction were not made.[4] However, it does not explain the case of one well-known example, Paestum, where the entasis is so pronounced that it creates an obvious curvature, not an illusion of straightness.
It has also been argued that a 'stunted cycloid' column that bulges in the middle is stronger than a column with straight sides.[5]
[