The Origins Of Fountains
The Origins Of Fountains A water fountain is an architectural piece that pours water into a basin or jets it high into the air in order to provide drinking water, as well as for decorative purposes.Originally, fountains only served a practical purpose. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, via aqueducts or springs nearby.
Up to the late nineteenth century, water fountains had to be near an aqueduct or reservoir and higher than the fountain so that gravity could make the water flow down or shoot high into the air. Designers thought of fountains as amazing additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to supply clean water and honor the artist responsible for creating it. Roman fountains often depicted imagery of animals or heroes made of metal or stone masks. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden planners incorporated fountains to create smaller variations of the gardens of paradise. The fountains seen in the Gardens of Versailles were supposed to show the power over nature held by King Louis XIV of France. The Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were extolled with baroque style fountains made to mark the place of entry of Roman aqueducts.
Indoor plumbing became the main source of water by the end of the 19th century thereby limiting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. Amazing water effects and recycled water were made possible by switching the power of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Decorating city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the uses of modern-day fountains.
The Original Garden Fountain Designers
The Original Garden Fountain Designers
Water feature designers were multi-talented people from the 16th to the late 18th century, often serving as architects, sculptors, artisans, engineers and cultivated scholars all in one. During the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci exemplified the creator as a inspired master, inventor and scientific specialist. He carefully registered his observations in his now celebrated notebooks about his studies into the forces of nature and the attributes and mobility of water. Combining creativity with hydraulic and landscaping expertise, early Italian water fountain creators transformed private villa settings into brilliant water displays filled with emblematic implications and natural elegance. The humanist Pirro Ligorio brought the vision behind the wonders in Tivoli and was distinguished for his skill in archeology, architecture and garden concepts. For the many mansions near Florence, other water feature builders were well versed in humanistic themes as well as classical scientific texts, masterminding the excellent water marbles, water highlights and water jokes.