In art, a pendant is one of two

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...

s, reliefs or other type of works of art intended as a pair. Typically, pendants are related thematically to each other and are displayed in close proximity. For example, pairs of portraits of married couples are very common, as are symmetrically arranged statues flanking an

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

How they work

Pendants may be the work of a single artist or of two artists, who in some instances might be in competition with one another. An example of the latter case is the pairing of the marble groups ''The Triumph of Faith over Idolatry'' by Jean-Baptiste Théodon and ''Religion Overthrowing Heresy and Hatred'' by Pierre Le Gros the Younger on the ''Altar of Saint Ignatius of Loyola'' (1695–1697/98), in the Church of the Gesù,

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. When J. M. W. Turner bequeathed two of his paintings to the National Gallery in London with the clause that they should in perpetuity hang next to two

landscape painting Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction in painting of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, rivers, trees, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a cohe ...

s by Claude Lorrain, he turned Claude's paintings into ''de facto'' pendants, although they were not originally intended as such.Dido Building Carthage
National Gallery, collection online. Many historic pendants have been separated over the years.

References

*{{cite web, title=Pendant, url=http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/glossary/pendant, website=The National Gallery, accessdate=10 March 2015 Painting