Acanthus (ornament)
The acanthus (
Architecture
In architecture, an ornament may be carved into stone or wood to resemble leaves from the Mediterranean species of the Acanthus genus of plants, which have deeply cut leaves with some similarity to those of the thistle and poppy. Both Acanthus mollis and the still more deeply cut Acanthus spinosus have been claimed as the main model, and particular examples of the motif may be closer in form to one or the other species; the leaves of both are, in any case, rather variable in form. The motif is found in decoration in nearly every medium.
The relationship between acanthus ornament and the acanthus plant has been the subject of a long-standing controversy. Alois Riegl argued in his Stilfragen that acanthus ornament originated as a sculptural version of the palmette, and only later began to resemble Acanthus spinosus.[2]
Greek and Roman
In ancient Roman and ancient Greek architecture acanthus ornament appears extensively in the capitals of the Corinthian and Composite orders, and applied to friezes, dentils and other decorated areas. The oldest known example of a Corinthian column is in the Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae in Arcadia, c. 450–420 BC, but the order was used sparingly in Greece before the Roman period. The Romans elaborated the order with the ends of the leaves curled, and it was their favourite order for grand buildings, with their own invention of the Composite, which was first seen in the epoch of Augustus.[3] Acanthus decoration continued in popularity in Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic architecture. It saw a major revival in the Renaissance, and still is used today.
The Roman writer Vitruvius (c. 75 – c. 15 BC) related that the Corinthian order had been invented by Callimachus, a Greek architect and sculptor who was inspired by the sight of a votive basket that had been left on the grave of a young girl. A few of her toys were in it, and a square tile had been placed over the basket, to protect them from the weather. An acanthus plant had grown through the woven basket, mixing its spiny, deeply cut leaves with the weave of the basket.
Byzantine
Some of the most detailed and elaborate acanthus decoration occurs in important buildings of the
Gallery
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Reconstructed Corinthian capital, with original colours
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Polyclitus the Younger, c.350 BC[4]
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Byzantine quasi-Corinthian in Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy, unknown architect or sculptor, 6th century
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Byzantine acanthuses on the cornice at the top of the Pilastri Acritani (Pillars of Acre), originally in the Church of St. Polyeuctus, later taken and now displayed in the Piazzetta di San Marco, Venice, unknown architect or sculptor, 524-527[6]
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Islamic capital with acanthuses, 10th century, marble, Cincinnati Art Museum, US
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Romanesque quasi-Corinthian capital, Church of St. Philibert, Tournus, France, c.1008 to mid-11th century[7]
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Gothic acanthus on a corbel of the Vienne Cathedral, Vienne, France, unknown architect or sculptor, c.1130-1529
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Renaissance acanthuses on the fabric worn by king Edward IV, portrait painted by Lucas Horenbout, c.1470-1475
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Gothic acanthuses on theHôtel de Cluny, Paris, unknown architect or sculptor, 1485-1510[8]
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Baroque acanthuses of a monogram of Louis XIV on the entrance door of the Dôme des Invalides, Paris, by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, 1677–1706[9]
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Potlogi, Romania, unknown architect or sculptor, 1698
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Brâncovenesc acanthuses of a railing of the Horezu Monastery, Horezu, Romania, unknown architect or sculptor, 17th-18th centuries[10]
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Baroque acanthuses on a commode, by André-Charles Boulle, c.1710–1720, walnut veneered with ebony, marquetry of engraved brass and tortoiseshell, and gilt-bronze mounts, Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Baroque mascaron with acanthuses in the Salon d'Hercule, 1724–1736, designed by Robert de Cotte, Jacques Gabriel
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Rococo acanthus, by Alexis Peyrotte, 1740, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York
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Rococo acanthuses on a wall of the oval salon of the Princesse in Hôtel de Soubise, Paris, by Germain Boffrand, 1740[11]
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Versailles, France, by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, 1764[12]
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Neoclassical acanthuses on a vase, by the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, 1814, hard-paste porcelain with platinum background and gilt bronze mounts, Louvre[13]
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Neoclassical acanthuses on the ceiling of the Salon des Sept cheminées,Francisque Duret, 1851[14]
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Beaux Arts acanthuses on the base of a column in the Grand Foyer of the Palais Garnier, Paris, designed by Charles Garnier, 1860–1875[15]
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Theophil von Hansen, 1873–1883[16]
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Neoclassical terracotta and enamel acanthuses of the door of the fine art hall of thePaul Sedille, 1878
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Romanian Revival acanthuses on a stained-glass window of the Kiseleff Roadside Buffet (Șoseaua Kiseleff no. 4), Bucharest, Romania, by Ion Mincu, 1889-1892[17]
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Romanian Revival glazed ceramic acanthus in the courtyard of the Central Girls' School (Strada Icoanei no. 3-5), Bucharest, by Ion Mincu, 1890[18]
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Romanian Revival acanthuses on the Gheorghieff Brothers Tomb, Bellu Cemetery, Bucharest, by Ion Mincu, c.1900
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Byzantine Revival acanthuses on the portico monumental Jules-Félix Coutan in the Félix-Desruelles Square, Paris, by Jules Coutan and the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, 1900
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Romanian Revival acanthuses of fish in a relief of Strada Louis Pasteur no. 24, Bucharest, unknown architect, c.1930
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Romanian Revival capital with acanthuses of Strada Carol Davila no. 12, Bucharest, unknown architect, c.1930
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Postmodern neon Corinthian capital in South Bay Galleria, Redondo Beach, California, US, by RTKL Associates and Theo Kondos Associates, 1985
See also
- Arabesque (European art)
- Palmette
Notes
- ^ Lewis & Darley 1986, p. 20.
- ^ Riegl 1992, pp. 187–206.
- S2CID 162473543.
- ^ Honour & Fleming 2009, p. 147.
- ^ Robertson 2022, p. 323.
- ISBN 978 0 7148 4810 5.
- ^ Watkin 2022, p. 123.
- ^ "Ancien hôtel de Cluny et Palais des Thermes, actuellement Musée National du Moyen Âge". pop.culture.gouv.fr. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ Bailey 2012, pp. 238.
- ^ Florea 2016, p. 243.
- ^ Jones 2014, p. 241.
- ^ Jones 2014, p. 273.
- ^ "PAIRE DE VASES « FUSEAU »". amisdulouvre.fr. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ^ Bresc-Bautier 2008, p. 122.
- ^ Jones 2014, p. 296.
- ^ Watkin 2022, p. 490.
- ^ Celac, Carabela & Marcu-Lapadat 2017, p. 153.
- ^ Celac, Carabela & Marcu-Lapadat 2017, p. 123.
- ^ Jones 2014, p. 294.
References
- Bailey, Gauvin Alexander (2012). Baroque & Rococo. Phaidon. ISBN 978-0-7148-5742-8.
- Bresc-Bautier, Geneviève (2008). The Louvre, a Tale of a Palace. Musée du Louvre Éditions. ISBN 978-2-7572-0177-0.
- Celac, Mariana; Carabela, Octavian; Marcu-Lapadat, Marius (2017). Bucharest Architecture - an annotated guide. Order of Architects of Romania. ISBN 978-973-0-23884-6.
- Florea, Vasile (2016). Arta Românească de la Origini până în Prezent (in Romanian). Litera. ISBN 978-606-33-1053-9.
- Honour, Hugh; Fleming, John (2009). A World History of Art - Revised Seventh Edition. Laurence King Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85669-584-8.
- Jones, Denna, ed. (2014). Architecture The Whole Story. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-29148-1.
- Lewis, Philippa; Darley, Gillian (1986). Dictionary of Ornament. New York: Pantheon. ISBN 9780394509310.
- Riegl, A (1992). Problems of style: foundations for a history of ornament. Translated by Kain, E. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-65658-8.
- Robertson, Hutton (2022). The History of Art - From Prehistory to Presentday - A Global View. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-02236-8.
- Watkin, David (2022). A History of Western Architecture. Laurence King. ISBN 978-1-52942-030-2.
Further reading
- Hopkins, Owen (2014). Architectural Styles: A Visual Guide. Laurence King. ISBN 978-178067-163-5.
External links
- Media related to Acanthus ornaments at Wikimedia Commons