Modern Garden Decor: Outdoor Fountains and their Roots
Modern Garden Decor: Outdoor Fountains and their Roots The dramatic or decorative effect of a fountain is just one of the purposes it fulfills, in addition to supplying drinking water and adding a decorative touch to your property.
The primary purpose of a fountain was originally strictly practical. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, from aqueducts or springs in the area. Up until the nineteenth, fountains had to be more elevated and closer to a water supply, including aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to benefit from gravity which fed the fountains. Designers thought of fountains as wonderful additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to supply clean water and honor the artist responsible for creating it. Bronze or stone masks of animals and heroes were commonly seen on Roman fountains. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden planners included fountains to create mini variations of the gardens of paradise. King Louis XIV of France wanted to illustrate his superiority over nature by including fountains in the Gardens of Versailles. The Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were extolled with baroque style fountains built to mark the place of entry of Roman aqueducts.
The end of the nineteenth century saw the increase in usage of indoor plumbing to provide drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to strictly decorative elements. Impressive water effects and recycled water were made possible by switching the power of gravity with mechanical pumps.
These days, fountains decorate public areas and are used to recognize individuals or events and fill recreational and entertainment needs.
Outdoor Fountain Builders Through History
Outdoor Fountain Builders Through History Commonly serving as architects, sculptors, designers, engineers and discerning scholars, all in one, fountain designers were multi-faceted people from the 16th to the late 18th century. Exemplifying the Renaissance artist as a imaginative genius, Leonardo da Vinci toiled as an inventor and scientific expert. He carefully reported his findings in his now much celebrated notebooks about his research into the forces of nature and the properties and movement of water.
Coupling imagination with hydraulic and gardening expertise, early Italian water fountain developers changed private villa settings into innovative water displays complete of symbolic meaning and natural wonder. The humanist Pirro Ligorio, renowned for his virtuosity in archeology, architecture and garden design, offered the vision behind the splendors in Tivoli. Masterminding the fascinating water marbles, water features and water pranks for the numerous estates in the vicinity of Florence, some other fountain designers were well versed in humanistic themes as well as classical technical texts.