Oeil-de-boeuf

An ox eye (French oeil -de- boeuf ) or Oculus ( Latin for " eye") is a well known since ancient times, both during the Romanesque period and in the Gothic resumed window form which was later distributed mainly in the Baroque and Art Nouveau: A circular or oval window, which is mostly used decoratively on portals or in the gable area. And pop-up window are often performed in this form. Circular window with a stone Maßwerkfüllung called contrast rosette or its Romanesque predecessor by filling in the form of a spoked wheel wheel window.

As Oculus also the circular openings in the dome vaults are referred to in bell towers of medieval church building, through which the bells could be transported vertically, as well as building materials and equipment for the construction and subsequent maintenance of the tower structures. Oculi of this type are referred to as dome eye ( cf. Oculus ). The opening is sometimes edged ornamental, perhaps in the form of achtpässigem tracery.

The distribution is not limited to the ecclesiastical architecture. In the late Romanesque period, this window can form in the secular architecture of castles of Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen prove ( Castel del Monte, Palazzo San Gervasio, the Donjon in the castle of Lucera, and others), and later in the castle and villa construction the Renaissance and the Baroque.

Even in the half-timbered come ox eyes as round or oval window forms ( dormer window).

Oculusfenster the nave of the Gothic Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna (1393-1479)

Porthole windows in the Justinuskirche in Frankfurt-Höchst

Bull's eye on the tower of the castle Rietberg, mounted in the 17th century

Three oculi in the gable area of a duplex house