Florentine Renaissance painter Filippo Lippi placed his Madonna of the 1440s within a simulated shell-headed niche

The niche in classical architecture is an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse. Nero's Domus Aurea (AD 64-69) was the first semi-private dwelling that possessed rooms that were given richly varied floor plans, shaped with niches and exedras; sheathed in dazzling polished white marble, such curved surfaces concentrated or dispersed the daylight. Download high resolution version (600x910, 255 KB)Madonna and Child (1440-1445), Filippo Lippi, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Download high resolution version (600x910, 255 KB)Madonna and Child (1440-1445), Filippo Lippi, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... By Region: Italian Renaissance Northern Renaissance -French Renaissance -German Renaissance -English Renaissance The Renaissance was a great cultural movement which brought about a period of scientific revolution and artistic transformation, at the dawn of modern European history. ... Madonna and Child 1440-45, tempera on panel National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Fra Filippo Lippi (1406 October 8? – 1469), also called Lippo Lippi, is a well-known Florentine painter of the Italian 15th century school. ... An exedra adopted by James Cameron for a neoclassical interior space, at the Hermitage In architecture an exedra is a semicircular recess, often crowned by a half-dome, which is usually set into a buildings facade. ... This article is about an architectural feature; for the astronomical term see apsis. ... The Domus Aurea (Latin for Golden House) was a large landscaped portico villa, designed to take advantage of artificially created landscapes, rather than a monumental palace,[1] built in the heart of Ancient Rome by the Roman emperor Nero after Great fire of Rome, which devastated Rome in 64 AD...

In Gothic architecture a niche may be set within a tabernacle framing, like a richly-decorated miniature house ("aedicule"), such as might serve for a reliquary. Backings for altars in churches ("reredos") can be embedded with niches for statues. Though a niche in either Classical or Gothic context 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. In Fra Filippo Lippi's Madonna (illustration, right) the trompe-l'oeil 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. The western facade of Reims Cathedral, France. ... The Tabernacle is known in Hebrew as the Mishkan ( משכן Place of [Divine] dwelling). It was to be a portable central place of worship for the Hebrews from the time they left ancient Egypt following the Exodus, through the time of the Book of Judges when they were engaged in conquering... An aedicule (little building) is a common framing device in both Classical architecture and Gothic architecture. ... For the band Reliquary, click here. ... An altar and reredos from St. ... In traditional usage, the cult of a religion, quite apart from its sacred writings (scriptures), its theology or myths, or the personal faith of its believers, is the totality of external religious practice and observance, the neglect of which is the definition of impiety. ... Madonna and Child 1440-45, tempera on panel National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Fra Filippo Lippi (1406 October 8? – 1469), also called Lippo Lippi, is a well-known Florentine painter of the Italian 15th century school. ... [[: Le Image:Mural de Narbonne. ... The Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller at Rhodes under a canopy of estate, on a dais: there is a cushion under his feet Margaret Beaufort, Queen Mother, at prayer, by an anonymous artist, about 1500 Engraving of the Gnadenaltar in the Vierzehnheiligen Basilica, Bad Staffelstein, Bavaria. ...

Expanding from its primary sense as an architectural recess, a niche can be applied to a hollow, crack, crevice, or foothold. This article is about building architecture. ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Niches

• Grotto
• Wave cut platform
• Mihrab

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The formation of a wave cut platform A wave cut platform refers to the narrow flat area often seen at the base of a sea cliff caused by the action of the waves. ... Mihrab (in Persian مهراب or محراب, in Arabic ألمحراب pl. ...

References

• Sir John Summerson, 1948. in Heavenly Mansions. Discussion of the Gothic aedicule.