Frieze

A frieze is a long strip of art.

It sits high on a wall. It is often above eye level.

People make them in many ways. Some use carved wood. Others use plaster. Some even use paint.

Friezes can show many things. They can show animals. They can show stories in panels. One frieze shows the eight winds.

They can be plain or fancy. Some have patterns. They make buildings look grand.

It is a beautiful way to decorate.

A frieze is a long strip of art.

It is often found high on a wall. Most friezes sit above eye level. You can find them on many buildings.

Some friezes are very plain. Others have carvings called bas-reliefs. These are shapes that stick out from the surface. A frieze can show many things. It might show animals or stories. Some friezes use panels to show scenes in a row. One tower in Athens has sculptures of the eight winds.

Artists make friezes in many ways. They use carved wood or plaster. They may also use paint or even writing. In a room, a frieze sits below the top edge of the wall. This top edge is called a cornice. A frieze can also be a curved shape. We call this a pulvinated frieze. These were common in the 1600s. They were used on buildings and even on furniture. Even math uses the idea of a frieze pattern.

A frieze is a long strip of art.

It is often found high on a wall. It can be very plain or very busy. Some friezes show scenes in a row of panels. These panels might show animals or stories. Artists use them to decorate buildings and rooms.

There are many ways to make a frieze. Some are made of carved wood. Others use plasterwork to create shapes. You might even see a frieze made of paint. Some use calligraphy, which is beautiful writing. A frieze can sit on a main beam called an architrave. It stays below the top edge called a cornice.

People have used friezes for a very long time. Many Greek and Roman buildings have them. The Parthenon Frieze is the most famous one. It is also very elaborate. In Athens, the Tower of the Winds has a frieze. It shows sculptures of the eight winds. These carvings are called bas-reliefs.

Friezes can take many different shapes. A pulvinated frieze is a special kind. This type is curved or convex in section. These were popular in the 17th century. This time is called Northern Mannerism. People used them on buildings and furniture. They were often used as smaller, secondary decorations.

Today, we see the idea of a frieze in many places. You can find them in the art of a room. They sit above the picture rail on a wall. Some people even call the roof of Yankee Stadium a frieze.

The idea is even used in math. Mathematicians call these frieze patterns. They study how shapes repeat in a long strip.

In the world of architecture, a frieze is a significant decorative element. It is the wide, central section of an entablature. An entablature is the horizontal structure supported by columns. A frieze serves to add beauty or meaning to a building. It can be quite simple or very complex. Many cultures use this long strip to display art.

The placement of a frieze follows a specific structural order. It sits directly upon the architrave. The architrave is the main beam of the structure. Above the frieze, it is capped by the cornice. The cornice is the decorative molding at the very top. On an astylar wall, there are no columns or pilasters. Even without these supports, the frieze remains a key part of the design.

Friezes can take many different forms depending on the style. In the Ionic or Corinthian orders, a frieze might be plain. However, it can also be decorated with bas-reliefs. Bas-relief is a type of sculpture that stays close to a background. Some friezes use paterae, which are circular ornaments, for decoration. Others might show scenes in a sequence of discrete panels.

Materials for these decorations vary widely across history. An artist might use plasterwork to create intricate shapes. Carved wood is another common medium for a frieze. Some friezes are made through painting or calligraphy. Calligraphy is the art of beautiful, decorative writing. In interior design, a frieze is a section of a room's wall. It sits above the picture rail and under the crown moldings.

History shows us that many famous structures use this feature. Ancient Greek and Roman buildings often feature beautiful friezes. The Parthenon Frieze is perhaps the most famous and elaborate example. In Athens, the Tower of the Winds also uses this technique. Its frieze contains relief sculptures of the eight winds. This shows how a frieze can tell a specific story.

Specific styles emerged during different historical periods. A pulvinated frieze, also called a pulvino, has a unique shape. This type is convex, meaning it curves outward in section. These were typical of 17th-century Northern Mannerism. This was a specific artistic style used during that time. People used these in interior architecture and on furniture. They often served as subsidiary or secondary decorations.

The concept of the frieze has expanded into other fields. In a loose sense, any continuous horizontal strip of decoration is a frieze. This can include figurative or ornamental motifs. Even modern structures use the term in a general way. For example, the roof of Yankee Stadium is described as a frieze.

Finally, the idea of the frieze exists in mathematics. Mathematicians use the term to describe frieze patterns. These are mathematical constructions involving repeating shapes. This shows how a simple architectural idea can connect to science. Whether in a temple or a math equation, the pattern remains important.