An ''oeil-de-boeuf'' (; en, "bull's eye"), also ''œil de bœuf'' and sometimes anglicized as ''ox-eye window'', is a relatively small elliptical or circular

window A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent mat ...

, typically for an upper storey, and sometimes set in a roof slope as a dormer, or above a door to let in

natural light Natural Light, sometimes Natty Light, is an American reduced-calorie light lager brewed by Anheuser-Busch since its introduction on July 31, 1977. Its ingredients are listed as water, barley malt, cereal grains, yeast, and hops. One serving c ...

. Windows of this type are commonly found in the grand architecture of Baroque

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. The term is also applied to similar round windows, such as those found in Georgian architecture in Great Britain, and later

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

and

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archit ...

styles in North America, so that must be considered part of the usage. The term initially applied to horizontal elliptical windows, but is also used for vertical ones.Burden, Ernest E., ''Illustrated dictionary of architecture'', McGraw-Hill Professional, 2001, p.354, ,
Google Books
/ref> The spread is not limited to ecclesiastical architecture. This type of window can also be found in the late Romanesque period in the area of secular architecture in the castles of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 to 1250, ( Castel del Monte,

Palazzo San Gervasio Palazzo San Gervasio ( Lucano: ) is a small agricultural town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is bounded by the comuni (Municipalities) of Acerenza, Banzi, Forenza, Genzano di Lucan ...

, on the donjon in the castle of Lucera, etc.), later also in Renaissance palaces and villas and in the Baroque.

References

Windows Ancien Régime French architecture {{architecturalelement-stub

See also

References