Les Singuliers et Nouveaux Portraicts... page 55 (verso) 1588

This is page 55 (verso) from ‘Les Singuliers et Nouveaux Portraicts...’ made around 1595 by Federico de Vinciolo, a pattern book printed with woodcut. Observe the intricate patterns, predominantly floral motifs rendered in a grid-like fashion. The stylized flowers carry echoes of ancient fertility symbols. The grid structure resembles textile patterns found in various cultures, each square a tiny vessel of cultural memory. We see similar floral patterns in ancient Minoan art, where the natural world intertwined with religious symbolism. The Renaissance fascination with classical forms led to the resurgence of such motifs, transforming and adapting them. This pattern echoes, albeit in an abstracted form, the same desire to capture and control nature, reflecting a deeper psychological need to bring order to the chaos of existence. The image is a cultural palimpsest, where ancient desires resurface in new forms, each square connecting us to the past, reminding us that history is not linear.