Acanthus Leaves and the Eternal Cycle of Life

Entrance door with acanthus leaves
varieties are seen in Florence 

If you are traveling in Italy you may notice that Italian Renaissance residences, Renaissance-style main doors and gates are often enriched with floral swirls that look like kales, with central flowers and acorns. These details are called rosettes. Rosettes turn a balcony's supporting beams into a festive garland of flowers, an empty door wooden square into a point of attraction. The same artistry applies to paintings and frescoes in the Renaissance: rosettes turn into swirls and explosions of beautiful leaves surrounding a painting's main scene.  

We said we have to keep in mind that the Italian Renaissance was a rewriting of the classical ages. Indeed Italian Renaissance art brought back to life what the classical ages had left us as a heritage.  

We can think of the classical ages as an evergreen remedy in times of revival after a temporary recession or important world phenomenons such as the Industrial Revolution and the current globalization. Indeed these events have much in common because they have given way to the highest consumerism peaks. Consumerism works in pairs with death while artworks in pairs with life. 

Arch of Settimio Severo, 203 A.D., Leptis Magna, Libya

That is why when times are hard on us when we look for a sense in life when we feel lost, we go back to the ages that made us feel eternal. The classical ages are eternal themselves by the means of their works of art and traditions and acanthus leaves are probably the best symbol for eternity. Acanthus leaves carve on Etruscan urns are probably the most meaningful example of the acanthus leaves' message: it's the description of the neverending revival cycle of nature. In this sense, death becomes part of the life cycle and is enhanced and respected the same as life. Acanthus leaves were an invention of the classical ages. They do not exist in real life. They are an idealization of what we strive for: eternity. 

English translation: Antique rosette belonging to
the arch of Settimio Severo (203 A.D., Leptis Magna, Libya)

My curiosity about acanthus leaves comes from the fact that I grew up with my mother Elena painting one of the historic Deruta patterns, called RICCO DERUTA. I started wondering where the pattern came from. Researches took me back to Italian Renaissance artist Perugino.  Then through Perugino, I got interested in the classical ages: Romans, Greeks and Etruscans in particular. These latter are a recent discovery of mine. My love for the Etruscans burst last year only by watching a 3D video of a finding with acanthus leaves carved on it. It was a helmet. It brought me back to the origin of my researches and the circle was concluded. I had found the answer to my question about the meaning of acanthus leaves.

My mother Elena is painting acanthus leaves at CAMA
before 2011.  A classical pattern called: Ricco Deruta

                          

Screenshot from the 3D video reconstructing a helmet with acanthus leaves
that was found in an Etruscan tomb in Tuscany 

Acanthus leave borders from a fresco by Perugino

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