Art professor: Only dictators have erected triumphal arches in the past century
Estonian Academy of Arts professor and architectural historian Mart Kalm told ERR that the era of building triumphal arches is over and that the U.S. president's desire to build one offers a glimpse into his aspirations.
Kalm noted that building triumphal arches is a tradition dating back to ancient Rome. "In fact, they began erecting them in Rome as early as the Roman Republic (sixth to first centuries B.C.). It was a gate-shaped monument through which an army returning victorious to Rome would pass, along with its spoils of war, slaves, animals and everything else," Kalm explained.
U.S. President Donald Trump recently confirmed his plans to build a triumphal arch in Washington, D.C.
"To tell the truth, the era of building triumphal arches is essentially over. The last ones may have gone up around a hundred years ago and since then only dictators have built them. Trump apparently just has this dream of becoming an emperor, but he ended up in the wrong country: a republic. He would like to be an emperor and that seems to be the thinking behind it. The initial designs synthesize elements from all sorts of different triumphal arches."
The arch is planned to stand 86 meters (282 feet) tall, a few meters taller than the Olümpia Hotel in Tallinn. "Distances are so vast in Washington that it is understandable, in terms of proportion, that something that large could be there. I understand the logic, although of course it is pointless gigantomania. If you've already got that affliction, at least this is a professional solution," Kalm said.
Kalm considers the Arc de Triomphe in Paris the most famous triumphal arch. "And with good reason! Do you know of any wars Trump has won? Napoleon had plenty of military victories. Later, of course, everything went the other way and half of Europe is full of triumphal arches inspired by victories over Napoleon."
One of the most recent arches is in North Korea. "It was erected to commemorate the struggle against Japan. It was built in 1982 by a thoroughly authoritarian regime, although Russia is trying to give them some semblance of legitimacy. The fact that this is one of the newest arches also shows who Trump wants to be like," Kalm emphasized.
The Estonian Academy of Arts professor also noted that building an arch has been considered in Estonia as well. "Architect Edgar Kuusik, in 1944, before the end of the war when the Russians were already here, designed a victory monument to the Soviet army. It was to be built next to the Tallinn Art Hall, which Kuusik himself had designed 10 years earlier, on the site of St. John's Church in Freedom Square. Can you imagine that the same man who came up with something so insane was a recipient of Estonia's Cross of Liberty?" Kalm said.
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Editor: Neit-Eerik Nestor, Marcus Turovski,
Source: "Ringvaade"
