The Origins Of Outdoor Fountains

The Origins Of Outdoor Fountains The incredible architecture of a fountain allows it to provide clean water or shoot water high into air for dramatic effect and it can also serve as an excellent design feature to complete your home.

Pure practicality was the original purpose of fountains. Residents of urban areas, townships and small towns utilized them as a source of drinking water and a place to wash, which meant that fountains needed to be linked to nearby aqueduct or spring. Up until the 19th century, fountains had to be more elevated and closer to a water source, such as aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to benefit from gravity which fed the fountains. Fountains were an optimal source of water, and also served to decorate living areas and memorialize the artist. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often used by Romans to decorate their fountains. To illustrate the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages introduced fountains to their designs. Fountains played a considerable role in the Gardens of Versailles, all part of French King Louis XIV’s desire to exert his power over nature. Origins Outdoor Fountains 59164585.jpg The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries created baroque decorative fountains to exalt the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the spot where the restored Roman aqueducts entered 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. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity allowed fountains to bring recycled water into living spaces as well as create unique water effects.

These days, fountains decorate public spaces and are used to honor individuals or events and fill recreational and entertainment needs.

Aspects of Outdoor Statues in Archaic Greece

Aspects Outdoor Statues Archaic Greece 370584442847563.jpg

Aspects of Outdoor Statues in Archaic Greece The first freestanding statuary was developed by the Archaic Greeks, a distinguished success since until then the sole carvings in existence were reliefs cut into walls and pillars. Most of the freestanding statues were of young, winsome male or female (kore) Greeks and are termed kouros figures. The kouroi, considered by the Greeks to exemplify beauty, had one foot extended out of a strict forward-facing posture and the male figurines were always undressed, with a compelling, powerful shape. Life-sized versions of the kouroi appeared beginning in 650 BC. A significant age of transformation for the Greeks, the Archaic period helped bring about newer forms of state, expressions of art, and a greater appreciation of people and customs outside of Greece. Similar to other times of historical unrest, arguments were common, and there were battles between city-states like The Arcadian wars, the Spartan invasion of Samos.

Did You Know How Mechanical Concepts of Fountains Became Known?

Did You Know How Mechanical Concepts of Fountains Became Known? Spreading useful hydraulic knowledge and water fountain design ideas throughout Europe was accomplished with the written papers and illustrated publications of the time. An un-named French water fountain designer was an internationally famed hydraulic innovator in the late 1500's. By developing gardens and grottoes with integrated and amazing water attributes, he began his profession in Italy by getting Royal commissions in Brussels, London and Germany. “The Principles of Moving Forces”, a book that turned into the fundamental text on hydraulic mechanics and engineering, was authored by him toward the end of his lifetime in France. Updating principal hydraulic findings of classical antiquity, the book also highlights contemporary hydraulic technologies. The water screw, a mechanical means to move water, and devised by Archimedes, was showcased in the book. A pair of concealed containers heated by the sun's rays in a space adjacent to the ornamental water feature were presented in an illustration. The hot liquid expands and then ascends and closes the pipes consequently activating the water feature. Pumps, water wheels, water attributes and garden pond concepts are included in the publication.