Small and romantic tattoos with stylized hearts

Of course, being such an ancient icon, it is easy to guess what kind of The meaning of a heart tattoohowever, it may be curious to know what the origin of this famous symbol is!

Contrary to what one might think, the heart symbol has little to do with the anatomical heart.

It seems that this form is found on very ancient finds, but with a different meaning. In fact, it was a graphic representation of the leaves of a plant, which for the Greeks was a vine. Among the Etruscans, this symbol represented ivy leaves and was engraved on wood or bronze, and then presented to spouses at weddings as a wish of fertility, fidelity and rebirth. Since the XNUMXnd century, Buddhists have used it as a symbol of enlightenment.

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However, the turning point that brought this ancient symbol closer to the one we know today always took place in the second century, but in a Roman environment. V Galen doctoron the basis of his anatomical observations, he wrote about 22 volumes of medicine, which are destined to become the cornerstone of this discipline in the coming centuries.

Giotto, for example, depicted Mercy offering its heart to Christ, and its form is very similar to the stylized one we still use today. Was he wrong? Maybe he didn't know much about the anatomy of the heart? It is unlikely, given that at that time, also thanks to the famous research of Leonardo da Vinci, the anatomy of the heart was already well known!

However, it was in the 16th century that the red heart in its current form finally appeared: on French playing cards.

And from that moment on, the symbol of the heart became more and more common, right up to our days.

Un stylized heart tattoo therefore, whether it is small, minimalistic, large and colorful, or extremely stylized and discreet, it not only represents love and passion, but is also a tribute to an ancient symbol.