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Identifying feature

Carved stone relief

Figures or patterns carved into stone so they project from a flat background, called low relief when shallow and high relief when deep. It appears on ancient temples and Gothic churches.

a sign of these styles

Karnak Temple, Luxor, Egypt: an example of Ancient Egyptian Ancient Egyptian c. 3000–30 BCE Massive stone walls that lean inward, giant gateway towers, and columns shaped like papyrus and lotus plants. Etchmiadzin Cathedral, Vagharshapat, Armenia: an example of Armenian Armenian c. 300–1400 Compact stone churches with a drum and conical dome, carved relief walls and upright cross-stones called khachkars. St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City: an example of Baroque Baroque c. 1600–1750 Theatrical classicism: curved facades, giant columns rising through several stories, and dramatic staged light. Palais Garnier, Paris, France: an example of Baroque Revival Baroque Revival c. 1860–1915 The 1800s turning the volume up: domes, paired columns, sculpture crowding the roofline, and staircases built for grand entrances. Palais Garnier, Paris, France: an example of Beaux-Arts Beaux-Arts c. 1880–1930 Gilded Age grandeur: paired giant columns, rough-cut stone bases, rooftop sculpture, and monumental stairs. Church of Santa Prisca de Taxco, Taxco, Mexico: an example of Churrigueresque Churrigueresque c. 1680–1780 Carved stone portals and altarpieces covered in ornament, framed by estipites, tapering pilasters wider at the top than the base. Meenakshi Temple, Madurai, India: an example of Dravidian Dravidian c. 600–1750 Stepped pyramidal towers: gateway gopurams crowded with painted figures, pillared halls, and walled temple enclosures with water tanks. Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven, Connecticut: an example of Egyptian Revival Egyptian Revival c. 1810–1930 Walls that lean inward as they rise, columns topped with lotus or papyrus, and winged sun disks over doorways. Kandariya Mahadeva Temple, Khajuraho, India: an example of Indian Classical Indian Classical c. 300 BCE–1200s Stone temples rising in tall carved towers, with surfaces packed with sculpture. Jerónimos Monastery, Lisbon, Portugal: an example of Manueline Manueline c. 1490–1540 Late Gothic stonework with twisted columns, carved ropes, armillary spheres and shells around portals and windows. Aztec Hotel, Monrovia, California: an example of Mayan Revival Mayan Revival c. 1920–1940 Walls sloping inward, stepped rooflines, corbel arches, and bands of geometric relief that imitate Maya glyphs. El Castillo, Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico: an example of Mesoamerican Mesoamerican c. 1000 BCE–1500 CE Stepped stone pyramids with steep ceremonial staircases and carved friezes. Helsinki Central Station, Helsinki, Finland: an example of National Romanticism National Romanticism c. 1890–1920 Rough granite or brick walls, steep roofs, towers and carved animal or plant ornament, with medieval and folk forms. Azadi Tower, Tehran, Iran: an example of Pahlavi Pahlavi c. 1925–1979 Symmetrical government buildings with Persepolis-style columns, Sasanian arches, reliefs, and plain brick or marble walls. Gate of All Nations, Persepolis, Iran: an example of Persian (Achaemenid) Persian (Achaemenid) c. 550–330 BCE Vast halls of tall columns with bull and lion capitals, reached by wide stairways lined with carved processions. Jameh Mosque of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran: an example of Seljuk Seljuk c. 1040–1300 Tall carved stone portals with stacked-niche muqarnas, brick minarets with turquoise tile, domed tombs and fortress-walled caravanserais. Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C., United States: an example of Stripped Classicism Stripped Classicism c. 1925–1950 Symmetrical stone buildings with flat pilasters or piers without capitals, tall windows in a regular grid, and low-relief sculpture.

also seen on

Ancient GreekArt DecoArt NouveauByzantineCatalan ModernismeChateauesqueEmpireFrench RenaissanceMannerismMughalNormanRomanesqueRomanesque RevivalRussian OrthodoxSoutheast AsianStalinist ClassicismVenetian Gothic

often seen with

Round arch An arch shaped as a half circle, often built from wedge-shaped blocks called voussoirs. Colonnade A row of evenly spaced columns carrying a horizontal beam, called an entablature, or a roof. Arcade A row of arches carried on columns or piers (thick square supports), often forming a covered walkway along a… Dome A rounded roof shaped as half a sphere, often raised on a drum (a circular wall). Monumental stairway A wide outdoor staircase leading up to a building's main entrance, often spanning much of the front. Symmetrical facade A facade, or main front, whose left and right halves mirror each other, usually with the main door at the… Courtyard An open-air space enclosed by the walls of a building or group of buildings. Deep-set window A window set far back into a thick wall of stone, brick or adobe, leaving a deep reveal, the side of the…