Greece: Cultural Statuary

Greece: Cultural Statuary Sculptors adorned the elaborate columns and archways with renderings of the gods until the period came to a close and most Greeks had begun to think of their religion as superstitious rather than sacred; at that point, it became more common for sculptors be paid to depict ordinary people as well. Portraiture became commonplace as well, and would be accepted by the Romans when they defeated the Greeks, and on occasion wealthy households would commission a depiction of their progenitors to be put inside their grand familial burial tombs. A point of artistic enhancement, the use of sculpture and other art forms transformed throughout the Greek Classical period, so it is inexact to say that the arts served only one function. Greek sculpture is probably appealing to us all nowadays as it was an avant-garde experiment in the historic world, so it does not make a difference whether or not its original function was religious zeal or artistic enjoyment.

When and Where Did Water Fountains Emerge?

When and Where Did Water Fountains Emerge? Water Fountains Emerge? 28109874477312406.jpg

Hundreds of classic Greek records were translated into Latin under the authority of the scholarly Pope Nicholas V, who led the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455. It was important for him to beautify the city of Rome to make it worthy of being called the capital of the Christian world. In 1453 the Pope commissioned the rebuilding of the Aqua Vergine, an ancient Roman aqueduct which had carried clean drinking water into the city from eight miles away. The ancient Roman custom of building an imposing commemorative fountain at the point where an aqueduct arrived, also known as a mostra, was restored by Nicholas V. The Trevi Fountain now occupies the space previously filled with a wall fountain crafted by Leon Battista Albert, an architect employed by the Pope. The Trevi Fountain as well as the well-known baroque fountains located in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona were eventually supplied with water from the altered aqueduct he had rebuilt.