Rome, Gian Bernini, And Water Features
Rome, Gian Bernini, And Water Features
There are numerous celebrated water fountains in Rome’s city center. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, one of the finest sculptors and artists of the 17th century planned, conceived and built virtually all of them. Traces of his life's work are evident all through the roads of Rome because, in addition to his skills as a water feature builder, he was also a city architect. To totally exhibit their artwork, primarily in the form of public water features and water fountains, Bernini's father, a distinguished Florentine sculptor, guided his young son, and they ultimately moved in the City of Rome. The juvenile Bernini was an exemplary worker and won compliments and patronage of significant artists as well as popes. At the beginning he was celebrated for his sculptural abilities. Working gracefully with Roman marble, he utilized a base of knowledge in the ancient Greek architecture, most famously in the Vatican. He was affected by many a great artists, however, Michelangelo had the biggest impact on his work.
Where did Landscape Fountains Begin?
Where did Landscape Fountains Begin? The incredible architecture of a fountain allows it to provide clean water or shoot water high into air for dramatic effect and it can also serve as an excellent design feature to complement your home. Pure practicality was the original role of fountains. Water fountains were linked to a spring or aqueduct to supply potable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Up to the late nineteenth century, water fountains had to be near an aqueduct or reservoir and higher than the fountain so that gravity could make the water move down or shoot high into the air. Fountains were an optimal source of water, and also served to decorate living areas and memorialize the artist. Roman fountains often depicted imagery of animals or heroes made of metal or stone masks. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden designers included fountains in their designs to re-create 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 Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries manufactured baroque decorative fountains to glorify the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the location where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.
The end of the nineteenth century saw the rise in usage of indoor plumbing to provide drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to strictly decorative elements. The introduction of unique water effects and the recycling of water were 2 things made possible by swapping gravity with mechanical pumps.
Nowadays, fountains decorate public spaces and are used to recognize individuals or events and fill recreational and entertainment needs.