Niche (architecture)

In architecture, a niche (CanE, UK: /ˈniːʃ/ or US: /ˈnɪtʃ/) is a recess, a cavity in a wall, typically holding a decorative element: a statue, a vase, etc. In Classical architecture examples are an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse.

Niche with a sculpture by Antoine Coysevox, in the Les Invalides, Paris

Etymology

The word derives from the Latin nidus (lit. 'nest'), via the French niche. The Italian nicchio (lit. 'sea-shell') may also be involved in the origin of the word,[1] as the traditional decoration for the top of a niche is a scallop shell, hence also the alternative term of "conch" for a semi-dome, usually reserved for larger exedra.

Types

A blind niche is a very shallow niche, usually too shallow to contain statues, and may resemble a blind window (a window without openings) or sealed door.[2][3][4] (Compare: blind arcade)

In Gothic architecture, a niche may be set within a tabernacle framing, like a richly decorated miniature house (aedicula), such as might serve for a reliquary. The backings for the altars in churches (reredos) can be embedded with niches for statues.

Though a niche in either Classical or Gothic contexts may be empty and merely provide some articulation and variety to a section of wall, the cult origins of the niche suggested that it be filled with a statue.

Examples

One of the earliest buildings which uses external niches containing statues is the Church of Orsanmichele in Florence, built between 1380 and 1404.

The Uffizi Palace in Florence (1560–81) modified the concept by setting the niche within the wall so it did not protrude. The Uffizi has two dozen or so such niches containing statues of great historical figures. In England, the Uffizi style niches were adopted at Montacute House (c. 1598), where there are nine exterior niches containing statues of the Nine Worthies.

In Fra Filippo Lippi's Madonna, the trompe-l'œil niche frames her as with the canopy of estate that was positioned over a personage of importance in the late Middle Ages and Early Modern Europe. At the same time, the Madonna is represented as an iconic sculpture who has "come alive" with miraculous immediacy.

  • Niches containing statues on exterior of Church of Orsanmichele, Florence, c. 1380–1404
    Niches containing statues on exterior of Church of Orsanmichele, Florence, c. 1380–1404
  • Renaissance painter Filippo Lippi placed his Madonna of the 1440s within a simulated shell-headed niche
    Renaissance painter Filippo Lippi placed his Madonna of the 1440s within a simulated shell-headed niche
  • Feminine bust in a niche on a building from Paris
    Feminine bust in a niche on a building from Paris
  • Statue in a niche on a cathedral from Paris
    Statue in a niche on a cathedral from Paris
  • Niche in a Baroque palace in La Merced, Mexico City.
    Niche in a Baroque palace in La Merced, Mexico City.

See also

References
  1. OED, "Niche"
  2. Adams, Laurie Schneider (2018). Italian Renaissance Art. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-97474-8. Blind niche: a shallow niche, usually a purely decorative feature of a wall.
  3. Palmer, Allison Lee (2016). Historical Dictionary of Architecture. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-6309-3. Blind niches, or niches devoid of sculpture, also function as blind windows that do not open to the outside
  4. Cooper, J. Eric; Decker, Michael (2012). Life and Society in Byzantine Cappadocia. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-36106-5. The design must have given the viewer the impression of a monumental hall with many rooms adjoined – the blind niches specifically designed and situated to resemble doors
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Niches.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.