Archaic Greek Art: Outdoor Statuary
Archaic Greek Art: Outdoor Statuary Archaic Greeks were renowned for developing the first freestanding statuary; up till then, most carvings were formed out of walls and pillars as reliefs. For the most part the statues, or kouros figures, were of young and desirable male or female (kore) Greeks. The kouroi were believed by the Greeks to represent beauty and were sculpted with one foot leading and an uncompromising rigidity to their forward-facing poses; the male statues were always strapping, sinewy, and undressing. In 650 BC, life-size forms of the kouroi began to be seen. During the Archaic time, a big time of changes, the Greeks were developing new types of government, expressions of art, and a larger understanding of people and cultures outside Greece. Notwithstanding, these conflicts did little to impede the development of the Greek civilization.Where did Garden Water Fountains Begin?
Where did Garden Water Fountains Begin? A water fountain is an architectural piece that pours water into a basin or jets it high into the air in order to supply drinking water, as well as for decorative purposes.Pure practicality was the original purpose of fountains. Water fountains were connected to a spring or aqueduct to provide drinkable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Up until the 19th century, fountains had to be more elevated and closer to a water supply, such as aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to take advantage of gravity which fed the fountains. Fountains were not only used as a water source for drinking water, but also to adorn homes and celebrate the artist who created it. The main materials used by the Romans to build their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly depicting animals or heroes. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden designers included fountains in their designs to mimic the gardens of paradise. The fountains seen in the Gardens of Versailles were intended to show the power over nature held by King Louis XIV of France. Seventeen and 18 century Popes sought to extol their positions by including beautiful baroque-style fountains at the point where restored Roman aqueducts arrived into the city.
Indoor plumbing became the key source of water by the end of the 19th century thereby limiting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. Impressive water effects and recycled water were made possible by switching the force of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Beautifying city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the functions of modern-day fountains.
Inventors of the First Water Fountains
Inventors of the First Water Fountains Water feature designers were multi-talented individuals from the 16th to the later part of the 18th century, often serving as architects, sculptors, artists, engineers and highly educated scholars all in one.
Leonardo da Vinci, a Renaissance artist, was celebrated as an creative intellect, inventor and scientific master. With his astounding curiosity concerning the forces of nature, he explored the attributes and mobility of water and also methodically recorded his findings in his now famed notebooks. Combining inventiveness with hydraulic and horticultural expertise, early Italian water feature creators modified private villa settings into ingenious water exhibits filled of symbolic implications and natural elegance. The humanist Pirro Ligorio, distinguished for his virtuosity in archeology, architecture and garden design, offered the vision behind the wonders in Tivoli. Masterminding the phenomenal water marbles, water features and water jokes for the various properties near Florence, other water fountain creators were well versed in humanistic themes and ancient scientific texts.