For those who study art, the acanthus leaf is an ever-present friend. From Greek art onwards, its stylizations occupy any artistic creation, from the capitals of columns, to the relief decorations on pilasters and stone monuments, up to the architectural and non-architectural pictorial ornamentation.
With its cracks and indentations, the eyes or inlets more or less close to the tips of the leaves, the sharp points and the characteristic lobes, thanks to the observation of the acanthus leaf in the ornamentation of the various eras we can distinguish the Greek, Roman, Etruscan decoration, up to the Renaissance, Mannerist, Baroque art and beyond. The acanthus leaf is a mine of information.
