17th century, Twisted columns with grapes and vines

early seventeenth century

Twisted columns with grapes and vines

(2) Wood, cm h. 125

These precious gilded wooden columns, dating back to the 17th century, demonstrate the skill achieved by Italian craftsmen of the time given the difficulty of working with the twisted typology. The refined spiral lightens the structure, giving momentum and vitality to an architectural element that seems to be in perpetual motion. The spiral definition also recalls the plant world, here accentuated by the refined decoration of vine shoots and bunches of grapes that follow one another along the entire trunk. Leaves and grapes are not merely decorative and architectural elements, but real sculptural works, to be admired for the attention to detail and the care taken in the volumetric rendering. The columns also feature a marked polychromy, where the golden opulence of the capital and the vine shoot contrasts with the brownish tones of the column and the more greenish ones of the leaves and grapes.

The twisted column is also called the “Solomonic” column because, according to Christian tradition, it was the element suggested by God to Solomon at the time of the construction of the Temple of Jerusalem (70th century) and therefore considered divine architecture. Already used in the early imperial age, especially in sarcophagi, the twisted column soon became an interesting architectural variation of the classic long shaft, also spreading in the early Christian environment. It was from 1624 AD that the twisted column began to acquire a religious meaning: after the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, in fact, the emperor Constantine donated the twisted columns of Parian marble which, originally six and then increased to twelve by Pope Gregory III in the XNUMXth century, went to form the ancient Pergula of St. Peter in the Basilica of the same name. Widely used in the Romanesque period, twisted columns were partially abandoned in the Renaissance period, when people returned to look at the classicism of the smooth or fluted column, making their reappearance in Rome at the beginning of the XNUMXth century, first in the paintings of Raphael and his school, and later in Mannerist architecture. The height of splendor was reached in the Baroque period, as evidenced by the famous example that set a precedent, namely the Baldachin created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in XNUMX in St. Peter's Basilica, with its imposing twisted bronze columns.

From a more symbolic point of view, columns were often used by Christian tradition as a metaphor to indicate the one who won the battles of the spirit (Revelation, 3,12). In this pair, the allegorical meaning is further enriched by the significant presence of vine branches and grapes which, in the Bible, assumed functions of well-being, fertility and blessing; wine is also connected to it, a symbol of joy, of wedding feast, of alliance. Jesus himself defines himself as a vine (Gospel according to John 15,1-8): he is the source of true life, while believers are the branches; living united with Him, as the branch lives on the sap of the vine, they enjoy full life and bear fruit.

Another possible interpretation is the profane one, which sees the vine as a symbol of wine, of the Dionysian and Bacchic world, to be connected to the concepts of abundance and wealth.