Mascaron (architecture)
In architecture, a mascaron ornament is a face, usually human, sometimes frightening or chimeric whose alleged function was originally to frighten away evil spirits so that they would not enter the building. The concept was subsequently adapted to become a purely decorative element. The most recent architectural styles to extensively employ mascarons were Beaux Arts and Art Nouveau. In addition to architecture, mascarons are used in the other applied arts. Green Man In the 11th century, European stonemasons began adding carved foliate mascarons, known as Green Men, to the decoration of churches, an image that early 20th-century scholars suggested had secretly represented a surviving pre-Christian god. Today, few scholar believe this idea. The Green Man is primarily interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, representing the cycle of new growth that occurs every spring. Great Palace Mosaics Museum, Istanbul (52131482106).jpg|Early [[Byzantine art|Byzantine]] mosaic with a foliate head, possibly from the reign of [[Byzantine emperor]] [[Justinian I]] (r. 527–565), [[Great Palace Mosaic Museum]], [[Constantinople]] (present-day [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]]){{cite book|last1=White|first1=Ethan Doyle|title=Pagans - The Visual Culture of Pagan Myths, Legends + Rituals|date=2023|publisher=Thames & Hudson|isbn=978-0-500-02574-1|page=197|url=|language=en}} Norwich Cathederal (51645742179).jpg|Elaborate foliate head in [[Norwich Cathedral]], [[Norfolk]], [[England]], 14th or early 15th-century{{cite book|last1=White|first1=Ethan Doyle|title=Pagans - The Visual Culture of Pagan Myths, Legends + Rituals|date=2023|publisher=Thames & Hudson|isbn=978-0-500-02574-1|page=197|url=|language=en}} File:Apartamentos de Napoleón III. Louvre. 09.JPG|[[Second Empire style]] ceiling with a foliate head in the [[Napoleon III]] Apartments, in the [[Louvre Palace]], Paris, designed by [[Hector Lefuel]] and decorated with paintings by [[Charles Raphaël Maréchal]], 1859-1860{{cite book|last1=Bresc-Bautier|first1=Geneviève|title=The Louvre, a Tale of a Palace|date=2008|publisher=Musée du Louvre Éditions|isbn=978-2-7572-0177-0|page=136|url=|language=en}} 46 Strada Justiției, Bucharest (07).
