Blind arch

{{Short description|Architectural feature}} [[Image:blind-arch.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Blind arches in the form of a blind arcade at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.]] [[Image:Siena-mura città.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Blind arches in the form of a Lombard band on a wall in Siena (Italy).]] [[File:Sahagun - Iglesia de San Tirso 06.JPG|thumb|200px|right|Blind arches in outer walls of the Church of San Tirso, Sahagun, Spain]]

A '''blind arch''' is an arch found in the wall of a building that has been infilled with solid construction and so cannot serve as a passageway, door or window.<ref>''A Dictionary of Architecture''; Fleming, John; Honour, Hugh & Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966)</ref> The term is most often associated with masonry wall construction, but blind arches are also found (or simulated) in other types of construction such as light frame construction. Some blind arches were originally built as open arches and infilled later. Others were originally built with solid infill as intentional stylistic elements (multiple arches form a blind arcade).

The half-circle-shaped (sometimes roughly triangular) area at the top of the blind arch is called a lunette.{{sfn|Hourihane|2012|p=130|loc=Lunette}}

== See also == * Blind arcade * Lombard band * Lesene

== References == {{Reflist}}

==Sources== * {{cite book|last=Hourihane|first=C.|title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Medieval Art and Architecture|publisher=Oxford University Press|volume=1|year=2012|isbn=978-0-19-539536-5|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FtlMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA131|access-date=2024-12-24|chapter=Arch|pages=129-134}}

== External links == {{commonscat inline|Blind arches}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070301142626/http://freenet.buffalo.edu/bah/a/DCTNRY/b/blindarch.html Description and photo] *[http://www.pitt.edu/~medart/menuglossary/blarch.htm Glossary of Medieval Art and Architecture]

Category:Arches and vaults