Iron Work c. 1936

Lena Nastasi created this drawing of ironwork using pencil and watercolor. Its dominant symbols are botanical, featuring a stylized plant with leaves, flowers, and curling tendrils confined within a sharp diagonal line. This use of botanical motifs is an ancient one, appearing in architectural ornament in ancient Greece and Rome. Consider the acanthus leaves adorning Corinthian columns: a celebration of natural beauty transformed into a symbol of classical civilization. Here, the leaves and flowers suggest a similar intention, domesticating nature within the rigid lines of ironwork design. However, the tendrils introduce a dynamic tension. Spirals and coils are some of our oldest symbols; think of snakes, the cycles of life and death, and the subconscious, irrational forces that drive human action. Nastasi’s choice to enclose these symbols within the ironwork speaks to a universal desire to contain the wildness of nature and the human psyche, an endeavor ever in flux. This echoes through history, resurfacing in new forms and contexts.