The Original Water Fountain Designers
The Original Water Fountain Designers Multi-talented people, fountain artists from the 16th to the late 18th century frequently functioned as architects, sculptors, artists, engineers and highly educated scholars all in one person. Leonardo da Vinci, a Renaissance artist, was renowned as a inspired intellect, inventor and scientific virtuoso. He carefully recorded his findings in his now celebrated notebooks about his investigations into the forces of nature and the properties and mobility of water.
Converting private villa configurations into imaginative water showcases full of symbolic meaning and natural beauty, early Italian water fountain engineers combined curiosity with hydraulic and gardening ability. The brilliance in Tivoli were created by the humanist Pirro Ligorio, who was widely known for his skill in archeology, engineering and garden design. Well versed in humanist subjects as well as established scientific texts, some other fountain makers were masterminding the extraordinary water marbles, water properties and water jokes for the various lands near Florence.
Where did Landscape Fountains Originate from?
Where did Landscape Fountains Originate from? 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.
Pure functionality was the original purpose of fountains. Cities, towns and villages made use of nearby aqueducts or springs to supply them with potable water as well as water where they could bathe or wash. Until the late 19th, century most water fountains operated using the force of 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. Acting as an element of adornment and celebration, fountains also provided clean, fresh drinking water. Roman fountains often depicted imagery of animals or heroes made of metal or stone masks. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden planners included fountains to create mini variations of the gardens of paradise. King Louis XIV of France wanted to illustrate his dominion over nature by including fountains in the Gardens of Versailles. The Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were glorified with baroque style fountains built 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 decorative. The creation of special water effects and the recycling of water were two things made possible by swapping gravity with mechanical pumps.
Contemporary fountains are used to embellish public spaces, honor individuals or events, and enhance recreational and entertainment events.