A triumphal arch is a structure in the shape of a monumental archway, usually built to celebrate a victory in war. The arch is invariably a free-standing structure, quite separate from city gates or walls. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two pillars connected by an arch, crowned with a superstructure or attic on which a statue might be mounted or which bears commemorative inscriptions. More elaborate triumphal arches have more than one archway, typically three or five of varying sizes.
The tradition dates back to Ancient Rome and is connected to the custom of the Roman triumphs granted by the Senate. Surprisingly little is known about how the Romans used triumphal arches; the only ancient author who discussed them was Pliny the Elder, writing in the 1st century AD. They are not mentioned at all by Vitruvius, the 1st century BC writer on Roman architecture. Pliny describes them as being honorary monuments of unusual importance, erected to commemorate triumphs. By the 2nd century arches were being erected to commemorate other events, such as the surviving triumphal arch at Ancona, erected by a grateful city to commemorate Trajan's improvements to the harbor.
It is unclear when the Romans first began erecting triumphal arches. They originated some time during the Roman Republican era, during which time three were erected in Rome, the earliest being one to Lucius Stertinius built in 196 BC. These appear to have been temporary structures and none now survive. Most triumphal arches were built during the Roman Empire. By the 4th century AD, 36 triumphal arches were recorded as existing in Rome. Only five now survive (see list below).
The arches of Rome became increasingly elaborate over the centuries. They were at first very simple symbolic temporary gateways to the city, being built of brick or stone with a semicircular arched heading and hung with trophies of captured arms. Later arches were built of high-quality marble with a large arch in the middle, and sometimes two smaller ones on each side, adorned with columns and bas-reliefs and crowned with statues, often a quadriga. The piers of the arch were often decorated with imitation pillars, usually of the Corinthian order.
Triumphal arches in the Roman style were revived during the Renaissance, when there was a Europe-wide upwelling of interest in the art and architecture of ancient Rome. Between the 16th and 19th century, kings and emperors erected numerous triumphal arches in conscious imitation of the Roman tradition. One of the earliest was the temporary arch erected in Rome to celebrate the election in 1513 of Pope Leo X. The Emperor Maximilian I commissioned the artist Albrecht Dürer to design an elaborately decorated monumental arch for him, though it was never actually built. Louis XIV of France and Napoleon Bonaparte both erected arches to commemorate their military triumphs, most famously the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Arches were erected for similar purposes in England, the United States, Germany, Romania, Russia and Spain, amongst other countries. Built to honour and glorify President Kim Il Sung and modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang is the largest arch in the world.
Temporary triumphal arches are still constructed, intended to be used for a celebratory parade or ceremony and then be dismantled afterwards.
