Classic Greece: The Roots of Outdoor Statue Design
Classic Greece: The Roots of Outdoor Statue Design In the past, most sculptors were compensated by the temples to adorn the involved columns and archways with renderings of the gods, but as the era came to a close it grew to be more common for sculptors to portray regular people as well simply because many Greeks had begun to think of their religion as superstitious rather than sacred.
Contemporary Garden Decor: Fountains and their Roots
Contemporary Garden Decor: Fountains and their Roots 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 central purpose of a fountain was originally strictly functional. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, via aqueducts or springs in the area. 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 move downwards or jet high into the air. Serving as an element of adornment and celebration, fountains also provided clean, fresh drinking water. Roman fountains often depicted imagery of animals or heroes made of metal or stone masks. To depict the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages added fountains to their designs. The fountains seen in the Gardens of Versailles were meant to show the power over nature held by King Louis XIV of France. The Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were glorified with baroque style fountains made to mark the arrival points of Roman aqueducts.
Urban fountains created at the end of the nineteenth served only as decorative and celebratory adornments since indoor plumbing provided the essential drinking water. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity enabled fountains to bring recycled water into living spaces as well as create unique water effects.
Decorating city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the functions of modern-day fountains.
The Minoan Culture: Outdoor Fountains
