Contemporary Garden Decor: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Beginnings
Contemporary Garden Decor: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Beginnings A water fountain is an architectural piece that pours water into a basin or jets it high into the air in order to provide drinkable water, as well as for decorative purposes.The main purpose of a fountain was originally strictly functional. 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. Used until the nineteenth century, in order for fountains to flow or shoot up into the air, their source of water such as reservoirs or aqueducts, had to be higher than the water fountain in order to benefit from gravity. Serving as an element of adornment and celebration, fountains also supplied clean, fresh drinking water.
Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often times utilized 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. King Louis XIV of France wanted to illustrate his dominion over nature by including fountains in the Gardens of Versailles. Seventeen and 18 century Popes sought to exalt their positions by adding decorative baroque-style fountains at the point where restored Roman aqueducts arrived into the city.
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. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity helped fountains to bring recycled water into living spaces as well as create special water effects.
Beautifying city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the uses of modern-day fountains.
Characteristics of Outdoor Sculpture in Archaic Greece
Characteristics of Outdoor Sculpture in Archaic Greece
The primitive Greeks developed the very first freestanding statuary, an impressive achievement as most sculptures up until then had been reliefs cut into walls and pillars. Most of the freestanding statues were of youthful, winsome male or female (kore) Greeks and are known as kouros figures. The kouroi were considered by the Greeks to represent beauty and were sculpted with one foot leading and an uncompromising stiffness to their forward-facing poses; the male statues were always strapping, brawny, and naked. In about 650 BC, the varieties of the kouroi became life-sized. During the Archaic period, a great time of change, the Greeks were evolving new forms of government, expressions of art, and a better awareness of people and cultures outside Greece. Similar to many other periods of historical unrest, disagreements were commonplace, and there were battles between city-states like The Arcadian wars, the Spartan invasion of Samos.
The Results of the Norman Conquest on Anglo-Saxon Gardens
The Results of the Norman Conquest on Anglo-Saxon Gardens The introduction of the Normans in the later half of the eleventh century significantly transformed The Anglo-Saxon ways of living. Architecture and gardening were attributes that the Normans excelled in, trumping that of the Anglo-Saxons at the time of the occupation. But the Normans had to pacify the entire territory before they could focus on home life, domestic architecture, and decoration. Most often constructed upon windy summits, castles were straightforward constructs that allowed their inhabitants to spend time and space to offensive and defensive strategies, while monasteries were rambling stone buildings frequently placed in only the most fecund, broad valleys. The bare fortresses did not provide for the calm avocation of gardening. Berkeley Castle is probably the most complete model in existence today of the early Anglo-Norman style of architecture. It is said that the keep was created during William the Conqueror's time. As a technique of deterring attackers from tunneling under the walls, an immense terrace encircles the building. On one of these parapets is a picturesque bowling green covered in grass and surrounded by an aged hedge of yew that has been shaped into coarse battlements.
The Myriad Reasons to Include a Water Feature
The Myriad Reasons to Include a Water Feature The inclusion of a wall fountain or an outdoor garden fountain is an excellent way to adorn your yard or garden design. Modern-day artists and fountain builders alike use historic fountains and water features to shape their creations. As such, the effect of integrating one of these to your home decor bridges it to past times. In addition to the positive attributes of garden fountains, they also produce water and moisture which goes into the air, thereby, attracting birds as well as other creatures and harmonizing the environment. For instance, irksome flying insects are usually discouraged by the birds attracted to the fountain or birdbath. Putting in a wall water feature is your best option for a little backyard because a spouting or cascading fountain occupies too much space. There are two types of fountains to pick from including the freestanding version with a flat back and an attached basin set up against a fence or a wall in your yard, or the wall-mounted, self-contained version which is suspended directly on a wall. Both a fountain mask placed on the existing wall as well as a basin located at the bottom to collect the water are necessary if you wish to include a fountain. The plumbing and masonry work necessary for this kind of work requires expertise, so it is best to employ a skilled person rather than go at it yourself.