The Major Characteristics of Ancient Greek Statuary
The Major Characteristics of Ancient Greek Statuary The primitive Greeks built the very first freestanding statuary, an amazing achievement as most sculptures up until then had been reliefs cut into walls and pillars. For the most part the statues, or kouros figures, were of young and nice-looking male or female (kore) Greeks. Thought of by Greeks to characterize beauty, the kouroi were structured into rigid, forward facing poses with one foot outstretched, and the male statues were usually nude, brawny, and fit. In 650 BC, life-size forms of the kouroi began to be observed.
The Origins Of Garden Fountains
The Origins Of Garden Fountains
The main purpose of a fountain was originally strictly functional. Inhabitants 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 nineteenth, fountains had to be higher and closer to a water supply, such as aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to benefit from gravity which fed the fountains. Fountains were not only used as a water source for drinking water, but also to decorate homes and celebrate the artist who created it. Bronze or stone masks of wildlife and heroes were commonly seen on Roman fountains. To depict the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages added fountains to their designs. Fountains played a significant role in the Gardens of Versailles, all part of French King Louis XIV’s desire to exert his power over nature. Seventeen and 18 century Popes sought to extol their positions by adding decorative baroque-style fountains at the point where restored Roman aqueducts arrived into the city.
The end of the nineteenth century saw the increase 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 permit fountains to bring in clean water and allow for amazing water displays.
Decorating city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the uses of modern-day fountains.