Atlas

Detail of an atlas in St. George church, Hamburg

Atlantes of the Casa degli Omenoni, Milan

In the European architectural tradition an atlas (also known as a atlant, or atlantid; plural atlantes)^[1] is a support sculpted in the form of a man, which may take the place of a column, a pier or a pilaster. The Roman term for such a sculptural support is telamon (plural telamones or telamons).^[1]

Caryatid is the female precursor of this architectural form in Greece, a woman standing—without effort—as each column or pillar, found at the most ancient temples such as the treasuries at Delphi and the Erechtheion on the Acropolis at Athens for Athene. They usually are in an Ionic context and represented a ritual association with the goddesses worshiped within. ^[2]

Atlantes express extreme effort in their function, heads bent forward to support the weight of the structure above them across their shoulders, forearms often lifted to provide additional support, providing an architectural motif.

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, also is derived from a later mythological hero, Telamon, one of the Argonauts, who was the father of Ajax.

Atlantes and caryatids were noted by the Roman late Republican architect Vitruvius, whose description of the structures,^[3] more than surviving examples, transmitted atlantes to the Renaissance architectural vocabulary.

Origin

Not only did the Caryatids precede them, but similar architectural figures already had been made in ancient Egypt out of monoliths. Atlantes originated in Magna Graecia, in southern Italy and Sicily after it was colonized by Greek settlers. The earliest surviving atlantes are ones from the early classical times, at the Greek temple of Zeus, the Olympeion, in Agrigento, Sicily. ^[4] Atlantes, however, have played a more significant role in Mannerist and baroque architecture.

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many buildings were built with glorious atlantes that look much like the Greek ones. Their selection from the two proposed designs—the other design using Caryatids—for the entrance of the Hermitage Museum that was built for Tsar Nicholas I of Russia made atlantes become even more fashionable. The portico of this building has ten enormous atlantes, approximately three times life-size, carved from Serdobol granite, which were designed by Leo von Klenze and executed by the sculptor, Alexander Terebenev.

Examples

• Basilica di Santa Croce, Lecce, Italy
• Casa degli Omenoni, Milan, Italy
• Church of St. Georg, Hamburg, Germany
• Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
• House in Kanałowa Str. 17, Poznań, Poland
• Palazzo Davia Bargellini, Bologna, Italy
• Pavilion Vendome, Aix-en-Provence, France
• Sanssouci, Potsdam, Germany
• Valle dei Templi, Agrigento, Italy

The Atlantes of the Hermitage

When classical architecture was revived in the 18th century and 19th century, many buildings included glorious atlantes that look much like the Greek ones. A prominent use of atlantes is at the entrance of the Hermitage Museum built for Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. The portico of this building has ten enormous atlantes (approximately three times life-size) carved from Serdobol granite designed by Leo von Klenze and executed by the sculptor Alexander Terebenev working with one hundred and fifty assistants, including J. Halbig, N. Tokarev and D. Jensen. 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 1 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 defined musculature.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Atlantes

• Atlas (mythology)
• Caryatid
• Telamon

References

Bibliography

• King, Dorothy (1998). "Figured supports: Vitruvius’ Caryatids and Atlantes". Quaderni Ticinesi XXVII. Dr King's "Doric Figured Supports: Vitruvius’ Caryatids and Atlantes" is available on-line

Notes