The Origins Of Garden Fountains
The Origins Of Garden Fountains The dramatic or decorative effect of a fountain is just one of the purposes it fulfills, as well as providing drinking water and adding a decorative touch to your property.Pure practicality was the original role of fountains. Inhabitants of cities, townships and small towns used them as a source of drinking water and a place to wash, which meant that fountains had to be connected to nearby aqueduct or spring. Until the late nineteenth, century most water fountains functioned 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 excellent source of water, and also served to decorate living areas and memorialize the artist. The main components used by the Romans to create their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly depicting animals or heroes. To depict the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages introduced fountains to their designs. The fountains seen in the Gardens of Versailles were supposed to show the power over nature held by King Louis XIV of France. Seventeen and 18 century Popes sought to exalt their positions by adding beautiful baroque-style fountains at the point where restored Roman aqueducts arrived into the city.
Since indoor plumbing became the norm of the day for fresh, 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.
Decorating city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the functions of modern-day fountains.
Greece: Cultural Statuary
Greece: Cultural Statuary Traditionally, the vast majority of sculptors were paid by the temples to embellish the involved columns and archways with renderings of the gods, but as the era came to a close it became more common for sculptors to portray regular people as well simply because many Greeks had begun to think of their institution as superstitious rather than sacred. Wealthy individuals would sometimes commission a rendition of their forefathers for their big familial tombs; portraiture also became prevalent and would be appropriated by the Romans upon their acquisition of Greek society. A point of aesthetic enhancement, the use of sculpture and alternate art forms morphed during the Greek Classical period, so it is inaccurate to say that the arts provided only one function. Greek sculpture is possibly fascinating to us nowadays because it was an avant-garde experiment in the ancient world, so it doesn't make a difference whether or not its original purpose was religious zeal or artistic enjoyment.