Where did Large Outdoor Fountains Come From?
Where did Large Outdoor Fountains Come From? A fountain, an incredible piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also launch water high into the air for a noteworthy effect.The main purpose of a fountain was originally strictly practical. Water fountains were connected to a spring or aqueduct to provide potable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Used until the nineteenth century, in order for fountains to flow or shoot up into the air, their origin of water such as reservoirs or aqueducts, had to be higher than the water fountain in order to benefit from gravity. Artists thought of fountains as amazing additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to provide clean water and celebrate the artist responsible for creating it. Roman fountains often depicted images of animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks. To depict the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages added fountains to their designs. To demonstrate his prominence over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries created baroque decorative fountains to exalt the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the spot where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.
Since indoor plumbing became the standard of the day for clean, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely decorative. Gravity was replaced by mechanical pumps in order to enable fountains to bring in clean water and allow for amazing water displays.
Modern-day fountains serve mostly as decoration for community spaces, to honor individuals or events, and enhance entertainment and recreational activities.
Ancient Greece: The Inception of Outdoor Statue Design
Ancient Greece: The Inception of Outdoor Statue Design Most sculptors were remunerated by the temples to accentuate the elaborate pillars and archways with renderings of the gods until the time period came to a close and countless Greeks began to think of their religion as superstitious rather than sacred, when it became more common for sculptors to represent ordinary men and women as well. Portraiture, which would be accepted by the Romans upon their annexation of Greek society became traditional as well, and wealthy families would often commission a rendering of their forebears to be placed in enormous familial tombs. A time of artistic development, the use of sculpture and alternate art forms transformed throughout the Greek Classical period, so it is inaccurate to say that the arts provided only one function. Greek sculpture was a modern part of antiquity, whether the cause was faith based fervor or aesthetic fulfillment, and its modern excellence might be what endears it to us now.