The Major Characteristics of Ancient Greek Statues

The Major Characteristics of Ancient Greek Statues Archaic Greeks were known for providing the first freestanding statuary; up until then, most carvings were made out of walls and pillars as reliefs. For the most part the statues, or kouros figures, were of young and attractive male or female (kore) Greeks. Major Characteristics Ancient Greek Statues 9909493440607407027.jpg

Major Characteristics Ancient Greek Statues 9909493440607407027.jpg

Thought of by Greeks to embody skin care, the kouroi were formed into firm, forward facing poses with one foot outstretched, and the male statues were always nude, well-built, and fit. Life-sized versions of the kouroi appeared beginning in 650 BC. Throughout the Archaic time, a great time of change, the Greeks were developing new forms of government, expressions of art, and a deeper comprehension of people and cultures outside Greece. Equivalent to many other times of historical unrest, conflicts were common, and there were struggles between city-states like The Arcadian wars, the Spartan invasion of Samos.

Public Garden Fountains Lost to History

Public Garden Fountains Lost to History Water fountains were originally practical in function, used to deliver water from rivers or creeks to cities and hamlets, supplying the inhabitants with clean water to drink, wash, and cook with. Gravity was the power supply of water fountains up until the close of the 19th century, using the potent power of water traveling down hill from a spring or brook to squeeze the water through valves or other outlets. Typically used as monuments and commemorative structures, water fountains have influenced people from all over the globe all through the centuries. If you saw the very first fountains, you wouldn't identify them as fountains. Public Garden Fountains Lost History 8160061392621416557.jpg

Public Garden Fountains Lost History 8160061392621416557.jpg

Crafted for drinking water and ceremonial functions, the 1st fountains were very simple carved stone basins. Rock basins are theorized to have been 1st used around 2000 BC. The earliest civilizations that utilized fountains depended on gravity to push water through spigots. The placement of the fountains was determined by the water source, which is why you’ll normally find them along aqueducts, canals, or streams. Fountains with ornamental Gods, mythological beasts, and animals began to show up in Rome in about 6 B.C., made from natural stone and bronze. Water for the public fountains of Rome arrived to the city via a complicated system of water aqueducts.

Ancient Garden Fountain Designers

Ancient Garden Fountain Designers Multi-talented people, fountain designers from the 16th to the late 18th century frequently functioned as architects, sculptors, artists, engineers and cultivated scholars all in one person. Exemplifying the Renaissance artist as a innovative master, Leonardo da Vinci worked as an inventor and scientific specialist. With his immense fascination regarding the forces of nature, he researched the attributes and motion of water and also methodically documented his observations in his now much celebrated notebooks. Coupling creativity with hydraulic and horticultural abilities, early Italian water fountain developers changed private villa settings into ingenious water displays loaded with emblematic implications and natural charm. The humanist Pirro Ligorio, renowned for his virtuosity in archeology, architecture and garden design, delivered the vision behind the splendors in Tivoli. For the various mansions in the vicinity of Florence, other water fountain engineers were well versed in humanistic subjects and ancient scientific texts, masterminding the extraordinary water marbles, water attributes and water jokes.

The Origins of Contemporary Outdoor Wall Fountains

The Origins of Contemporary Outdoor Wall Fountains The translation of hundreds of classical Greek documents into Latin was commissioned by the scholarly Pope Nicholas V who led the Church in Rome from 1397 till 1455. Beautifying Rome and making it the worthy capital of the Christian world was at the heart of his ambitions. In 1453 the Pope commissioned the repairing of the Aqua Vergine, an historic Roman aqueduct which had carried fresh drinking water into the city from eight miles away. Origins Contemporary Outdoor Wall Fountains 4958678527.jpg

Origins Contemporary Outdoor Wall Fountains 4958678527.jpg

The historical Roman tradition of marking the entry point of an aqueduct with an magnificent celebratory fountain, also known as a mostra, was restored by Nicholas V. The architect Leon Battista Alberti was commissioned by the Pope to build a wall fountain where we now see the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain as well as the well-known baroque fountains found in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona were eventually supplied with water from the modified aqueduct he had reconstructed.