Inventors of the First Fountains
Inventors of the First Fountains
Often working as architects, sculptors, artists, engineers and cultivated scholars all in one, from the 16th to the late 18th century, fountain designers were multi-talented people, Leonardo da Vinci, a Renaissance artist, was renowned as an inspired master, inventor and scientific expert. With his immense fascination about the forces of nature, he explored the properties and motion of water and also carefully documented his examinations in his now celebrated notebooks. Ingenious water displays packed with symbolic meaning and natural grace transformed private villa settings when early Italian fountain designers paired creativity with hydraulic and gardening expertise. Known for his incredible skill in archeology, architecture and garden creations, Pirro Ligorio, the humanist, offered the vision behind the splendors in Tivoli. For the many lands near Florence, other water feature creators were well versed in humanistic subject areas and ancient scientific texts, masterminding the incredible water marbles, water highlights and water jokes.
The Origins Of Garden Fountains
The Origins Of Garden 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 a noteworthy effect. Pure practicality was the original purpose of fountains. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, via aqueducts or springs nearby. Up until the 19th century, fountains had to be higher and closer to a water source, such as aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to benefit from gravity which fed the fountains. Fountains were not only used as a water source for drinking water, but also to decorate homes and celebrate the artist who created it. Bronze or stone masks of animals and heroes were frequently seen on Roman fountains. To depict the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages added fountains to their designs. The fountains found in the Gardens of Versailles were intended to show the power over nature held by King Louis XIV of France. Seventeen and 18 century Popes sought to extol their positions by including beautiful baroque-style fountains at the point where restored Roman aqueducts arrived into the city.
Indoor plumbing became the main source of water by the end of the 19th century thereby restricting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. Amazing water effects and recycled water were made possible by replacing the force of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Nowadays, fountains adorn public areas and are used to recognize individuals or events and fill recreational and entertainment needs.