Twee afbeeldingen van Korinthische kapitelen van de San Marco in Venetië before 1885

Carl Heinrich Jacobi captured these two Corinthian capitals of San Marco in Venice with photography. Observe the acanthus leaves swirling around the capitals, a motif deeply rooted in classical antiquity. It's a visual echo resonating from ancient Greece and Rome. These leaves, symbols of life and rebirth, were favored in classical architecture for their decorative qualities and symbolic depth. But let us not confine ourselves to the classical world. The acanthus appears across time and geographies. In medieval manuscripts, we see its stylized form adorning borders and initial letters. What was once a pagan symbol is transformed, adapted into a Christian context, representing spiritual growth and divine illumination. The persistence of this motif reveals a deeply ingrained human fascination with the natural world. The use of acanthus leaves speaks to our collective memory, a subconscious connection to the past that transcends time. Like a dream, images resurface unexpectedly, carrying with them the weight of history and emotion.