Bernini’s Early Italian Water Fountains
Bernini’s Early Italian Water Fountains Bernini's earliest fountain, named Barcaccia, is a masterful work of art seen at the foot of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. To this day, this area is filled with Roman locals and travelers alike who enjoy debate and each other's company. Today, the city streets surrounding Bernini's water fountain are a trendy place where people go to gather, something which the artist would have been pleased to learn. In around 1630, Pope Urbano VIII helped Bernini launch his professional life with the construction of his first fountain. Depicted in the fountain's design is a large ship slowly sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. According to 16th century documents, a great flood of the Tevere covered the entire area in water, an event which was memorialized by the eye-catching fountain. In 1665 Bernini traveled to France, in what was to be his sole extended absence from Italy.
A Small Garden Space? Don't Feel Left Out! You Can Still Have a Water Fountain
A Small Garden Space? Don't Feel Left Out! You Can Still Have a Water Fountain
You can make your space appear bigger due to the reflective effect of water. Augmenting the reflective attributes of a fountain or water feature are possible by using dark materials. When the sun goes down, you can use underwater lights in different colors and shapes to light up your new feature. Eco-lights fueled by sunlight can be used during the day whereas you can use lights to enhance your backyard at night. Often utilized in natural therapies, they help to lessen anxiety and stress with their calming sounds. Your outdoor vegetation is a fantastic place to blend in your water feature. Your pond, man-made waterway, or fountain is the perfect feature to draw people’s attention. Small verandas or major gardens is the perfect place to install a water element. Considerably modifying the ambience is possible by placing it in the most suitable place and include the finest accompaniments.
The Genesis Of Fountains
The Genesis Of Fountains
A fountain, an amazing piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also propel water high into the air for an extraordinary effect. From the beginning, outdoor fountains were soley there to serve as functional elements. Cities, towns and villages made use of nearby aqueducts or springs to provide them with potable water as well as water where they could bathe or wash. Up to the late 19th century, water fountains had to be near an aqueduct or reservoir and more elevated than the fountain so that gravity could make the water flow down or shoot high into the air. Artists thought of fountains as wonderful additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to provide clean water and celebrate the designer responsible for building it. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often utilized by Romans to decorate their fountains. To replicate the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages added fountains to their designs. King Louis XIV of France wanted to demonstrate his superiority over nature by including fountains in the Gardens of Versailles. The Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were extolled with baroque style fountains made to mark the place of entry of Roman aqueducts.
Indoor plumbing became the main source of water by the end of the 19th century thereby limiting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. Impressive water effects and recycled water were made possible by switching the power of gravity with mechanical pumps.
These days, fountains decorate public spaces and are used to honor individuals or events and fill recreational and entertainment needs.
Archaic Greek Artistry: Large Statuary
Archaic Greek Artistry: Large Statuary
The first freestanding sculpture was designed by the Archaic Greeks, a distinguished achievement since until then the sole carvings in existence were reliefs cut into walls and pillars. Most of the freestanding statues were of youthful, winsome male or female (kore) Greeks and are termed kouros figures. Considered by Greeks to represent skin care, the kouroi were shaped into firm, forward facing positions with one foot outstretched, and the male statues were always nude, well-built, and athletic. Life-sized versions of the kouroi appeared beginning in 650 BC. The Archaic period was an extraordinary time of change for the Greeks as they expanded into new modes of government, formed novel expressions of art, and attained insights of the men and women and cultures outside of Greece. The Arcadian battles, the Spartan invasion of Samos, and other wars between city-states are good examples of the types of conflicts that arose frequently, which is consistent with other times of historical change.