The City Of Rome, Gian Bernini, And Statuary Fountains
The City Of Rome, Gian Bernini, And Statuary Fountains There are countless renowned Roman water fountains in its city center. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, one of the most brilliant sculptors and artists of the 17th century designed, conceptualized and constructed virtually all of them. Also a city architect, he had capabilities as a water feature developer, and traces of his life's work are apparent throughout the streets of Rome. Bernini's father, a renowned Florentine sculptor, mentored his young son, and they ultimately moved to Rome, in order to fully express their art, primarily in the form of public water fountains and water features. An exemplary employee, Bernin earned praise and the patronage of popes and well known artists. His sculpture was originally his claim to popularity. An expert in historical Greek engineering, he utilized this knowledge as a starting point and melded it seamlessly with Roman marble, most remarkably in the Vatican. He was influenced by many great artists, however, Michelangelo had the biggest effect on his work.The Genesis Of Garden Fountains
The Genesis Of Garden Fountains A fountain, an amazing piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also propel water high into the air for an extraordinary effect. Pure practicality was the original purpose of fountains. Cities, towns and villages made use of nearby aqueducts or springs to provide them with potable water as well as water where they could bathe or wash. Used until the 19th century, in order for fountains to flow or shoot up into the air, their origin of water such as reservoirs or aqueducts, had to be higher than the water fountain in order to benefit from gravity. Designers thought of fountains as wonderful additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to provide clean water and celebrate the designer responsible for creating it. Bronze or stone masks of animals and heroes were commonly seen on Roman fountains. Muslims and Moorish landscaping designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller versions 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 Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries created baroque decorative fountains to glorify the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the spot where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.
The end of the nineteenth century saw the rise in usage of indoor plumbing to provide drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to purely decorative elements. Gravity was substituted by mechanical pumps in order to enable fountains to bring in clean water and allow for amazing water displays.
Beautifying city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the purposes of modern-day fountains.