For each individual era, for each country that had its own unique culture, these or those architectural features are characteristic. But it happens that the idea of a certain ancient creator, intended exclusively for his native region, has acquired a worldwide scale. It is in this category that the well-known flutes fell. This phenomenon was first discovered in buildings of the era of Ancient Egypt. What was his further fate?
Description
So, flutes are vertical grooves that encircle the perimeter of a column or the semicircle of a pilaster. Due to them, these architectural structures become embossed and unique. It is not thoroughly known how and why the ancient masters produced such creations. Guided by logic, it can be assumed that the flutes produced some visual effects. Small grooves, closely grouped on the column, made it more massive, tall and voluminous. This could give the building greatness and power. Conversely, a building with columns on which the flutes were too massive, and their number barely exceeded a dozen, looked more fragile and seemed smaller in size than it actually was.
History of occurrence
As noted above, modern historians do not know the author of this architectural feature. Also, the reason for the invention of the flute remains a mystery. However, this did not prevent archaeologists from establishing the approximate date and place of birth of this phenomenon. We are talking about Egypt in the period from the end of III - beginning of II millennium BC. e. It was in this developed country that architects first began to decorate the columns with flutes, the number of which was strictly either 8 or 16. The ancient Egyptian building with columns had another important feature. The grooves originated at the base of the trunk, and ended at the very top edge. The fact is that in other cultures and in later periods, the position of the flutes changes somewhat, as will be discussed below.
Antique period
Closer to the first millennium BC. e. the vertical grooves on the column barrel became the property of ancient architects. In ancient Greece and in the Roman Empire, the flutes were also continuous, that is, they went from the base to the top of the column. But their width and frequency have changed significantly. Ancient creators made the grooves narrower, due to which they managed to increase their number on one pilaster or column. Due to this, all the buildings created according to their sketches look incredibly majestic, they seem huge and immense. In fact, 50 percent success lies in the visual effect. From antiquity, this architectural feature moves to European classics, and read about it below.
The revival of past traditions
Having learned what flutes are in architecture, everyone who reads is ready to swear that he saw those in his city. Indeed, some buildings erected relatively recently, namely at the beginning of the twentieth century, boast the presence of vertical grooves. How so? To begin with, let's make a small digression. In the medieval period, as you know, people completely renounced all ancient values. For a long time no one remembered all the creations of that era, and this oblivion lasted until the end of the 19th century.
The Art Nouveau style, which then became very popular in all branches of art, decided to revive the traditions of the sandy past. Together with them, they also remembered the flutes. This architectural creation was again widely used by both European and Russian masters. That is why we often see not so old buildings, the columns of which are decorated with grooves, in Europe and in our homeland.
Otto Wagner
One of the leaders among the architects of the modernist direction named Otto Wagner gave a completely new life to the flute. First, he made them less deep and less wide. Such an innovation made it possible to use them not only for decorating columns, but also for updating walls. Wagner's flutes have another noteworthy feature: they originate at the very top of the wall or pilasters, but never reach the bottom. Instead, they break off and merge into a triangle pointing down.
It is worth noting that such an innovation of Wagner attracted the attention of Petersburg architects, who created the Art Nouveau style during the flourishing.