Atlas (architecture)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the mythological character Atlas, see Atlas (mythology).
- For the fictional character Atlantes, see Atlantes (Sorcerer).
An atlas, in architecture, is a support or column sculpted in the form of a man; the plural is atlantes. Another name for such a column is telamon (plural telamones or telamons). (Caryatid is the female equivalent.)
[edit] Origin
Atlantes originated in ancient Greece. The term is the Latin plural of the name Atlas – the Titan who was forced to hold the earth (or sky in some versions) on his shoulders for eternity. (The alternative term, telamones, is also derived from a mythological hero, Telamon, one of the Argonauts, who was the father of Ajax.) The first atlantes found are ones from the Greek temple of Zeus in Agrigento, Sicily but similar figures had been already made in ancient Egypt out of monoliths. Atlantes were later used in many other cultures – including the Roman and Aztec – and played a significant role in baroque architecture.
[edit] The Atlantes of the Hermitage
When classical architecture was revived in the 19th century, many buildings included glorious atlantes that look much like the Greek ones. The most famous atlantes today could well be the ones placed at the entrance of the Hermitage Museum in Russia.
 The Hermitage Museum was built for Tsar Nicholas I of Russia |
 Terebenev's granite atlantes at the entrance to the Hermitage |
The portico of this building has ten enormous atlantes (approximately three times life-size) carved from Serdobol granite by the sculptor Alexander Terebenev working with one hundred and fifty assistants. Finishing such a grand project was not easy: each of the assistants worked on a specific part of the atlantes while Terebenev himself worked on the faces.
The design was first presented in 1840 and was chosen from two options: one with atlantes and one with caryatids (a female version of the atlantes). Terebenev was responsible for the entire plastic design of the atlantes. The figures were installed at the front of the museum on September 1st 1848. Leo von Klenze, the architect of the Hermitage extension, spoke very highly of these sculptures and even said that had the ancient Egyptians made the figures instead, they would have not been any better than the ones Terebenev created.
The figures stand straight and proud, with their backs arched forward and arms holding the ceiling at head level. The heads touch the ceiling and bend down. The bodies of the atlantes are slim but very strong, with clearly visible muscles as well as ribs.
[edit] See also
