Contemporary Garden Decor: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Beginnings

Contemporary Garden Decor: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Beginnings 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 an extraordinary effect.

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From the onset, outdoor fountains were soley there to serve as functional elements. Water fountains were linked to a spring or aqueduct to provide drinkable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Until the late nineteenth, century most water fountains operated using gravity to allow water to flow or jet into the air, therefore, they needed a supply of water such as a reservoir or aqueduct located higher than the fountain. Fountains were an optimal source of water, and also served to decorate living areas and memorialize the designer. Bronze or stone masks of wildlife and heroes were frequently seen on Roman fountains. Muslims and Moorish landscaping designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller versions of the gardens of paradise. Fountains enjoyed a considerable role in the Gardens of Versailles, all part of French King Louis XIV’s desire to exercise his power over nature. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries manufactured baroque decorative fountains to glorify the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the spot where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.

The end of the nineteenth century saw the increase in usage of indoor plumbing to provide drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to purely decorative elements. Gravity was replaced by mechanical pumps in order to permit fountains to bring in clean water and allow for amazing water displays.

These days, fountains decorate public spaces and are used to honor individuals or events and fill recreational and entertainment needs.

Ancient Water Fountain Artists

Ancient Water Fountain Artists Often working as architects, sculptors, artists, engineers and cultivated scholars all in one, from the 16th to the later part of the 18th century, fountain designers were multi-talented individuals, Exemplifying the Renaissance artist as a inspiring genius, Leonardo da Vinci toiled as an innovator and scientific guru. With his astounding fascination about the forces of nature, he investigated the properties and movement of water and systematically documented his examinations in his now celebrated notebooks. Early Italian fountain engineers changed private villa configurations into inventive water exhibits full with symbolic meaning and natural beauty by combining creativity with hydraulic and horticultural experience. Known for his virtuosity in archeology, design and garden design, Pirro Ligorio, the humanist, delivered the vision behind the magnificence in Tivoli. Ancient Water Fountain Artists 58580184647503351602.jpg

For the many properties near Florence, other fountain creators were well versed in humanistic topics as well as ancient technical texts, masterminding the incredible water marbles, water attributes and water humor.

The Defining Characteristics of Ancient Greek Sculpture

The Defining Characteristics of Ancient Greek Sculpture The first freestanding statuary was improved by the Archaic Greeks, a distinguished accomplishment since until then the sole carvings in existence were reliefs cut into walls and columns. Kouros figures, sculptures of adolescent, good-looking male or female (kore) Greeks, made up the greater part of the sculptures. Thought of by Greeks to characterize splendour, the kouroi were created into rigid, forward facing poses with one foot outstretched, and the male statues were usually nude, well-developed, and athletic. In about 650 BC, the varieties of the kouroi became life-sized. The Archaic period was turbulent for the Greeks as they evolved into more polished forms of government and art, and obtained more information about the peoples and civilizations outside of Greece. But in spite of the conflicts, the Greek civilization went on to advance, unabated.