Fountain Engineers Through History
Fountain Engineers Through History Often serving as architects, sculptors, artists, engineers and cultivated scholars all in one, from the 16th to the late 18th century, fountain designers were multi-faceted people, Leonardo da Vinci, a Renaissance artist, was celebrated as an imaginative genius, inventor and scientific virtuoso. He carefully noted his ideas in his now renowned notebooks, following his enormous fascination in the forces of nature inspired him to investigate the properties and motion of water.
Early Italian water fountain designers changed private villa configurations into amazing water showcases full with emblematic meaning and natural beauty by coupling imagination with hydraulic and horticultural talent. The humanist Pirro Ligorio, distinguished for his virtuosity in archeology, architecture and garden design, delivered the vision behind the wonders in Tivoli. Masterminding the excellent water marbles, water attributes and water antics for the various estates in the vicinity of Florence, other water fountain designers were well versed in humanistic subjects and classical technical texts.
Where did Garden Water Fountains Originate from?
Where did Garden Water Fountains Originate from?
A water fountain is an architectural piece that pours water into a basin or jets it high into the air in order to supply drinkable water, as well as for decorative purposes. Pure functionality was the original role of fountains. Water fountains were connected to a spring or aqueduct to provide potable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Until the late 19th, century most water fountains functioned using gravity to allow water to flow or jet into the air, therefore, they needed a source of water such as a reservoir or aqueduct located higher than the fountain. Designers thought of fountains as amazing additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to supply clean water and celebrate the artist responsible for creating it. Bronze or stone masks of wildlife and heroes were commonly seen on Roman fountains. Muslims and Moorish garden designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller models of the gardens of paradise. To show his dominance over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. To mark the entrance of the restored Roman aqueducts, the Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries commissioned the construction of baroque style fountains in the spot where the aqueducts entered the city of Rome
Indoor plumbing became the main source of water by the end of the 19th century thereby restricting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity enabled fountains to provide recycled water into living spaces as well as create special water effects.
These days, fountains adorn public areas and are used to pay tribute to individuals or events and fill recreational and entertainment needs.