The
acanthus is one of the most common ornaments used to depict foliage. Architectural ornaments are carved in stone or wood in the appearance of leaves from the Mediterranean
Acanthus spinosusAcanthus is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the Old World, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region and Asia...
plant, with some resemblance to
thistleThistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles often occur all over the plant - on surfaces such as those of the stem and flat parts of leaves. These are an adaptation that protects the...
,
poppyA poppy is any of a number of colorful flowers, typically withone per stem, belonging to the poppy family. They include a number of attractive wildflower species with colorful flowers found growing singularly or in large groups; many species are also grown in gardens...
and
parsleyParsley is a bright green biennial herb, often used as spice. It is common in Middle Eastern, European, and American cooking...
leaves.
Acanthus ornaments appear extensively in the capitals of the
CorinthianThe Corinthian order is one of the three biggest classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. It is the most ornate, characterized by a slender fluted column and an elaborate capital decorated with acanthus leaves and scrolls. The other two orders were the Doric and the Ionic...
and
CompositeThe composite order is a mixed order, combining the volutes of the Ionic order capital with the acanthus leaves of the Corinthian order. The composite order volutes are larger, however, and the composite order also has echinus molding with egg-and-dart ornamentation between the volutes...
orders, and applied to the
friezethumb|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain or—in the Ionic or Corinthian order—decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
. Ancient Greek culture was the first to use the ornament, elaborated by the Romans with the ends of the leaves curled.
The
acanthus is one of the most common ornaments used to depict foliage. Architectural ornaments are carved in stone or wood in the appearance of leaves from the Mediterranean
Acanthus spinosusAcanthus is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the Old World, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region and Asia...
plant, with some resemblance to
thistleThistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles often occur all over the plant - on surfaces such as those of the stem and flat parts of leaves. These are an adaptation that protects the...
,
poppyA poppy is any of a number of colorful flowers, typically withone per stem, belonging to the poppy family. They include a number of attractive wildflower species with colorful flowers found growing singularly or in large groups; many species are also grown in gardens...
and
parsleyParsley is a bright green biennial herb, often used as spice. It is common in Middle Eastern, European, and American cooking...
leaves.
Acanthus ornaments appear extensively in the capitals of the
CorinthianThe Corinthian order is one of the three biggest classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. It is the most ornate, characterized by a slender fluted column and an elaborate capital decorated with acanthus leaves and scrolls. The other two orders were the Doric and the Ionic...
and
CompositeThe composite order is a mixed order, combining the volutes of the Ionic order capital with the acanthus leaves of the Corinthian order. The composite order volutes are larger, however, and the composite order also has echinus molding with egg-and-dart ornamentation between the volutes...
orders, and applied to the
friezethumb|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain or—in the Ionic or Corinthian order—decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
. Ancient Greek culture was the first to use the ornament, elaborated by the Romans with the ends of the leaves curled. The design continued in popularity in the Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic architecture, again during the Renaissance, and still favored in the present.
Acanthus ornaments are used for the interior of a building on the
crown moldingCrown molding encapsulates a large family of moldings which are designed to gracefully flare out to a finished top edge; generally used for capping walls, pilasters, cabinets; used extensively in the creation of interior and exterior cornice assemblies and door and window hoods.In recent times,...
.
The design is also used in Medieval and
RenaissanceThe Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe...
artwork, particularly in sculpture and wood carving and in
friezethumb|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain or—in the Ionic or Corinthian order—decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
s.
The relationship between acanthus ornament and the acanthus plant has been the subject of a long-standing controversy.
Alois RieglAlois Riegl was an Austrian art historian, and is considered a member of the Vienna School of Art History...
famously argued in his
StilfragenStilfragen: Grundlegungen zu einer Geschichte der Ornamentik is a book by the Austrian art historian Alois Riegl. It was published in Berlin in 1893. The English translation renders the title as Problems of style: foundations for a history of ornament, although this has been criticized by some...
that acanthus ornament originated as a sculptural version of the
palmettePalmette, also called anthemion , is an artistic motif resembling the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree...
, and only later began to resemble
Acanthus spinosus.
External links