What’s On Chandigarh: Art of the Arch, a photography exhibition, celebrates an architectural element that’s vital to our old monuments

The various structural and aesthetic aspects of the arch—a very basic ‘building block’ of architecture in the historic times – take us through a journey of experiencing the vast range of ingenuity, craftsmanship and creativity that went into its making. “Sadly, it’s now almost extinct in its true form, but often replicated as an adornment to break the rigid monotony of modern architecture’s orthogonal geometry of forms and spaces, explains Wattas, former principal of the Chandigarh College of Architecture, an architectural critic and Chandigarh’s modern heritage expert. A distinguished photographer, he has published hundreds of photographs as travelogues and photo essays, documenting architecture, cities and public art from time to time.

Rajnish Wattas

The arch, reflects Wattas, is an acrobat of architecture. Bending, posturing and leaping across spans – it defines transition, ingress, egress, openings and apertures of buildings. You step into them, to emerge out in a new space. The innovation of the arch as a structural device to span openings impacted the evolution of architecture significantly through history. Much more efficient and with more possibilities than the previous post and lintel system, the arch opened newer vistas of architectural attainments and ambition.

The true inventors and users of arches were the Romans. They employed the structural innovation of the arch as a defining element of their buildings. Arches placed in a row became arcades, enabling bridges across rivers or aqueducts for bringing water to cities. Placed in layers, they became vaults, and when recessed, became squinches to support domes overhead.

From the Roman use of arch, the technology spread both to Western and Eastern architectures over time. In the West, from Gothic to Byzantine, Renaissance, and Baroque periods, it became an integral component of monuments; to be reborn as neo-classical and modernist styles of the 19th and 20th centuries. In India, the arch found a home in Mughal and Rajasthani architecture. As the crafts persons for both were the same, they enriched each style, by infusing elements from one to the other. “If the use of the arch, the vault and the dome to the Rajput edifices came from Islamic structures, the features of jaallis, chattris, jharokas and chajjahs were woven into Mughal architecture from the former,” Wattas said.

The arch evolved over time from a pure structural innovation to an aesthetic element with adornment of numerous decorative motifs, mouldings and variations of forms and shapes. And Wattas’ photographs give you a glimpse into the world of arches.

When and where: The exhibition is on till June 2, 11 am to 7 pm, at the Government Museum and Art Gallery, Sector 10.