The Godfather Of Roman Public Fountains

The Godfather Of Roman Public Fountains In Rome’s city center, there are countless famous fountains. One of the greatest sculptors and designers of the 17th century, Gian Lorenzo Bernini fashioned, conceptualized and built nearly all of them. Also a city designer, he had abilities as a water feature designer, and records of his life's work are obvious throughout the avenues of Rome. Bernini's father, a renowned Florentine sculptor, mentored his young son, and they ultimately moved to Rome, in order to fully express their art, primarily in the form of public water fountains and water features. An diligent worker, the young Bernini earned compliments and patronage of many popes and influential designers. He was originally renowned for his sculpture. Most notably in the Vatican, he used a base of expertise in classic Greek architecture and melded it effortlessly with Roman marble. He was influenced by many great artists, however, Michelangelo had the biggest effect on his work.

The Main Characteristics of Ancient Greek Sculpture

Main Characteristics Ancient Greek Sculpture 330395779.jpg

The Main Characteristics of Ancient Greek Sculpture The Archaic Greeks developed the very first freestanding statuary, an amazing achievement as most sculptures up until then had been reliefs cut into walls and pillars. Kouros figures, statues of adolescent, good-looking male or female (kore) Greeks, made up the majority of the sculptures. The kouroi, viewed as by the Greeks to symbolize beauty, had one foot stretched out of a strict forward-facing pose and the male figurines were always undressed, with a compelling, sturdy physique. In around 650 BC, the differences of the kouroi became life-sized. The Archaic period was an incredible point of transformation for the Greeks as they expanded into new forms of government, formed unique expressions of art, and achieved insights of the men and women and cultures outside of Greece. During this time and other periods of historical tumultuousness, clashes often happened, among them wars fought between city-states such as the Arcadian wars and the Spartan invasion of Samos.

A Chronicle of Outdoor Fountains

A Chronicle of Outdoor Fountains Himself a highly educated man, Pope Nicholas V led the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 till 1455 and was responsible for the translation of hundreds of ancient documents from their original Greek into Latin. Beautifying Rome and making it the worthy capital of the Christian world was at the heart of his ambitions. Starting in 1453, the ruined ancient Roman aqueduct known as the Aqua Vergine which had brought clean drinking water into the city from eight miles away, underwent repair at the bidding of the Pope. Building a mostra, an imposing celebratory fountain built by ancient Romans to memorialize the arrival point of an aqueduct, was a tradition revived by Nicholas V. The Trevi Fountain now occupies the space formerly filled with a wall fountain built by Leon Battista Albert, an architect employed by the Pope. The Trevi Fountain as well as the renowned baroque fountains located in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona were eventually supplied with water from the altered aqueduct he had rebuilt.