Mercury fountain

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Script error: No such module "about". Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

A mercury fountain is a fountain constructed for use with liquid metallic mercury ("quicksilver") rather than water.

Mercury fountains existed in some castles in Islamic Spain; the most famous one was located at the Kasr-al-Kholaifa in Córdoba.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Calder's Mercury Fountain

File:Font de Mercuri d'Alexander Calder.jpg
Calder's fountain of mercury at the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona

The most well-known modern example is a sculpture designed by the American artist Alexander Calder, commissioned by the Spanish Republican government for the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris. The artwork is a memorial to the siege of Almadén by General Franco's troops; at the time, the region supplied 60 percent of the world's mercury.[1]

File:Calder Mercury Fountain July 1937 Paris Worlds Fair.jpg
Alexander Calder, pictured with Mercury Fountain and Pablo Picasso's Guernica in 1937

The fountain was a sculptural counterpart to Guernica, Pablo Picasso's protest against Spanish Civil War atrocities. Calder's Mercury Fountain is now at the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona, displayed behind glass to control toxic mercury vapors.[1][2]

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

External links

Template:Alexander Calder Template:1937 Paris International Exposition of Arts and Techniques Applied to Modern Life Template:Authority control

Template:Asbox

Template:Spain-sculpture-stub

ca:Font de mercuri es:Fuente de Mercurio