Where did Landscape Fountains Come From?
Where did Landscape Fountains Come From? 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 complete your home.Pure functionality was the original purpose of fountains. Cities, towns and villages made use of nearby aqueducts or springs to provide them with potable water as well as water where they could bathe or wash. 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 source of water such as a reservoir or aqueduct located higher than the fountain. Acting as an element of decoration and celebration, fountains also supplied clean, fresh drinking water. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often used by Romans to beautify their fountains. To depict the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages added fountains to their designs. Fountains enjoyed a considerable role in the Gardens of Versailles, all part of French King Louis XIV’s desire to exert his power over nature. The Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were glorified with baroque style fountains constructed to mark the arrival points of Roman aqueducts.
Since indoor plumbing became the standard 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 ornamental. Gravity was replaced by mechanical pumps in order to enable fountains to bring in clean water and allow for amazing water displays.
Modern-day fountains function mostly as decoration for community spaces, to honor individuals or events, and enhance entertainment and recreational gatherings.
The Father Of Rome's Garden Fountain Design
The Father Of Rome's Garden Fountain Design There are countless celebrated water fountains in Rome’s city center. One of the most distinguished sculptors and designers of the 17th century, Gian Lorenzo Bernini planned, conceived and constructed almost all of them. He was furthermore a city designer, in addition to his abilities as a water feature developer, and remnants of his life's work are noticeable all through the streets of Rome. Ultimately moving to Rome to completely reveal their artwork, primarily in the shape of public water features, Bernini’s father, a famed Florentine sculptor, mentored his young son. An outstanding worker, Bernin received encouragement and the patronage of popes and important painters. Originally he was celebrated for his sculpting skills. Working gracefully with Roman marble, he made use of a base of knowledge in the ancient Greek architecture, most especially in the Vatican. Though he was influenced by many, Michelangelo had the most serious impact on him, both personally and professionally.How Mechanical Designs of Water Fountains Spread
How Mechanical Designs of Water Fountains Spread Throughout the European countries, the principal means of dissiminating useful hydraulic understanding and fountain design ideas were the published pamphlets and illustrated books of the time, which contributed to the advancement of scientific development. In the later part of the 1500's, a French water fountain developer (whose name has been lost) was the globally renowned hydraulics pioneer.
With Royal commissions in Brussels, London and Germany, he began his career in Italy, developing knowledge in garden design and grottoes with incorporated and ingenious water hydraulics. “The Principles of Moving Forces”, a book that became the fundamental book on hydraulic mechanics and engineering, was composed by him toward the end of his life in France. Detailing modern hydraulic systems, the book furthermore updated critical hydraulic discoveries of classical antiquity. The water screw, a technical method to move water, and devised by Archimedes, was featured in the book. Sunlight warming liquid in two vessels concealed in a room next to an beautiful water feature was presented in one illustration. The hot water expands and subsequently ascends and shuts the water pipes consequently triggering the water fountain. Designs for pumps, water wheels, water features and garden ponds are also mentioned in the guide.
Bernini: The Genius Behind Italy's Greatest Water Fountains
Bernini: The Genius Behind Italy's Greatest Water Fountains The Barcaccia, Bernini's very first water fountain, is a striking chef d'oeuvre built at the foot of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. This spot continues to be filled with Roman locals and visitors who enjoy 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 trendy gathering places, something which would certainly have pleased Bernini himself. In about 1630, the great master designed the first fountain of his career at the behest of Pope Ubano VIII. People can now see the fountain as a depiction of a great ship gradually sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. Period writings dating back to the 16th century indicate that the fountain was built as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the great flooding of the Tevere.
Absenting himself from Italy only once in his life for a long-lasting time period, in 1665 Bernini traveled to France.