Bernini: The Master of Italy's Greatest Water Fountains
Bernini: The Master of Italy's Greatest Water Fountains One can see Bernini's earliest masterpiece, the Barcaccia water fountain, at the foot of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. This spot is still filled with Roman locals and tourists who like to exchanging gossip or going over the day's news.
The streets neighboring his water fountain have come to be one of the city’s most stylish gathering places, something which would certainly have pleased Bernini himself. Dating back to around 1630, Pope Urbano VIII mandated what was to be the earliest water fountain of the artist's career. A large vessel slowly sinking into the Mediterranean is the fountain's central theme. The great flooding of the Tevere that blanketed the whole region with water in the 16th was commemorated by this momentous fountain as recorded by documents dating back to this period. In 1665 Bernini traveled to France, in what was to be his only prolonged absence from Italy.
Where did Large Garden Fountains Begin?
Where did Large Garden Fountains Begin? A fountain, an amazing 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.From the onset, outdoor fountains were soley there to serve as functional elements. Residents of cities, townships and small towns used them as a source of drinking water and a place to wash up, which meant that fountains had to be connected to nearby aqueduct or spring. Up to the late 19th century, water fountains had to be near an aqueduct or reservoir and higher than the fountain so that gravity could make the water move downwards or jet high into the air. Fountains were an excellent source of water, and also served to adorn living areas and memorialize the artist. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often used by Romans to decorate their fountains. Muslims and Moorish landscaping designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller models of the gardens of paradise. King Louis XIV of France wanted to illustrate his superiority over nature by including fountains in the Gardens of Versailles.
The Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were extolled with baroque style fountains constructed to mark the arrival points of Roman aqueducts.
Since indoor plumbing became the norm 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 substituted by mechanical pumps in order to permit fountains to bring in clean water and allow for beautiful water displays.
Modern-day fountains function mostly as decoration for public spaces, to honor individuals or events, and enhance entertainment and recreational activities.
The Hellenic Republic: Architectural Statuary
The Hellenic Republic: Architectural Statuary Most sculptors were remunerated by the temples to adorn the elaborate columns and archways with renderings of the gods up until the stage came to a close and many Greeks started to think of their religion as superstitious rather than sacred, when it became more typical for sculptors to represent ordinary men and women as well. Portraiture, which would be recognized by the Romans upon their annexation of Greek society became customary as well, and thriving family members would often commission a rendering of their forebears to be situated in enormous familial tombs.
The use of sculpture and other art forms differed through the years of The Greek Classical period, a duration of artistic growth when the arts had more than one goal. Whether to gratify a visual desire or to commemorate the figures of religion, Greek sculpture was an innovative practice in the ancient world, which could be what attracts our interest today.