Talk:False front
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Cabinetry
[edit]The word is quite popular in modern cabinetry (think kitchen cabinets), meaning multiple thing to multiple people, none of them well-described in the sources I have read. For someone who decides to try, here are some meaning I have discovered:
- a decorative panel attached to the front of the frameless drawer
- a decorative panel imitating the drawer where it does not exist (think space under the kitchen sink)
- a functional plank placed on the inside of a frameless drawer to simplify the attachment of the drawer bottom
Good luck! Викидим (talk) 20:54, 27 September 2025 (UTC)
Screen façades in the Romanesque architecture
[edit]This is a lightly-edited AI-generated text (prompt: you are an english wikipedia editor. based on the source provided, create wikitext of a section about screen facades in the romanesque architecture) that is unverified and too narrow to be used as-is. Keeping it here for myself to be used in the future or any other editor with time on their hands. It should be (1) significantly shortened, (2) made less French-centric (extra sources will be needed), (3) made to be less about the transition and more about the final point.
During the 11th century, Romanesque architecture in the Poitou region of western France saw a significant evolution in the design of church fronts, moving from heavy tower-porches (tours-porches) to decorated, rectilinear screen façades (façades-écrans).[1] This transition was driven by changes in architectural technology and liturgical focus, and it allowed the western façade to become a canvas for elaborate sculptural programs.[1]
A key monument in this development is the abbey church of Saint-Jean-de-Montierneuf in Poitiers, founded in 1069 by Duke Guy-Geoffroy-Guillaume.[1] The duke's original plan, conceived before his death in 1086, was for an ambitious façade with two towers for the bells.[1] However, this project was soon abandoned in favor of a simpler, straight screen-façade, which was completed around 1086–1096.[1] Archaeological evidence from 1990 confirmed that the completed Romanesque façade was a rectilinear wall, and fragments reused in a later rebuilding show it was decorated with richly sculpted archivolts.[1]
The shift at Montierneuf is representative of a broader architectural trend. Several factors contributed to the decline of the tower-porch and the rise of the screen-façade:
- Architectural innovation: The increasing use of stone vaulting in churches made it possible to construct strong, stable bell towers over the crossing of the nave and transept.[1] This centralized the tower over the main altar, giving it new symbolic importance and removing the structural necessity for towers at the entrance.[1]
- Liturgical changes: With the bells and defensive functions moved elsewhere, the entrance no longer needed to be a heavy, fortified structure. This allowed for a more direct and open entryway into the church.[1]
- Aesthetic and functional benefits: Abandoning the tower-porch opened up the western wall, allowing for much larger windows. This was crucial for illuminating the increasingly dark interiors of stone-vaulted churches.[1] The flat façade itself became a decorative surface, structured with arcades and sculpted elements, which has been described as an "idealization of the gable-end of the urban house."[1]
Because Saint-Jean-de-Montierneuf was a prestigious ducal foundation, its innovative design likely served as a prototype, influencing later Romanesque churches throughout the region.[1] This new model of a wide, decorated screen-façade was subsequently adopted at other major sites, including Parthenay-le-Vieux, Saint-Pierre de Chauvigny, and the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saintes, and would culminate in the famous sculpted façades of the 12th century, such as Notre-Dame-la-Grande in Poitiers.[1]
References