The City Of Rome, Gian Bernini, And Fountains
The City Of Rome, Gian Bernini, And Fountains There are countless celebrated fountains in Rome’s city center. One of the greatest sculptors and artists of the 17th century, Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed, conceptualized and built nearly all of them. His skills as a water fountain developer and also as a city architect, are visible throughout the streets of Rome. Ultimately moving to Rome to completely show their artwork, chiefly in the form of community water fountains, Bernini’s father, a famed Florentine sculptor, guided his young son. The young Bernini received praise from Popes and relevant artists alike, and was an excellent employee. At the start he was celebrated for his sculptural expertise. An expert in ancient Greek architecture, he used this knowledge as a base and melded it gracefully with Roman marble, most notably in the Vatican. Though a variety of artists impacted his artistic endeavors, Michelangelo influenced him the most.Where did Landscape Fountains Originate from?
Where did Landscape Fountains Originate from?
Pure practicality was the original role of fountains. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, via aqueducts or springs in the vicinity. Until the late nineteenth, century most water fountains operated using the force of 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. Serving as an element of decoration and celebration, fountains also provided clean, fresh drinking water. Roman fountains often depicted images 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 mimic the gardens of paradise. To show his prominence over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries manufactured baroque decorative fountains to exalt the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the location where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.
Indoor plumbing became the main source of water by the end of the 19th century thereby restricting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity helped fountains to provide recycled water into living spaces as well as create unique water effects.
Beautifying city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the functions of modern-day fountains.
Garden Water Fountain Designers Through History
