Fundació Joan Miró: The Mercury Fountain

            In the Miro Museum.

Mercury fountains utilize mercury rather than water. This fountain was designed by the American artist Alexander Calder and commissioned by the Spanish Republican government for the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris. He donated the Mercury Fountain  to the Fundació as a mark of his friendship with Miró. Calder took a particular interest in incorporating movement into sculpture, and he was one of the precursors of kinetic art. Among other works, the World Fair Spanish pavilion also contained Picasso's Guernica, Montserrat by Julio González, and The reaper by Joan Miró, which disappeared after the closure of the exhibition. The artwork is an anti-fascist tribute to the siege of Almadén during the Spanish Civil War by Franco's troops. Almeden has the largest reservoirs of mercury in the world and in 1937 60% of the world's mercury came from its mines. The mercury in this fountain has a double significance: it acts as the driving force, and it also pays tribute — in the same way as Picasso did to the inhabitants of Guernica — to the people of Almadén. The mercury fountain, now at the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona, is displayed behind very thick permanently sealed glass so that the poisonous vapors never escape. Interestingly that mercury fountains existed in some castles in Islamic Spain; the most famous one was situated at the Kasr-al-Kholaifa in Córdoba.

Taken in: España / Catalunya / Barcelona / Poble Sec (show map)

Taken on: September 15, 2005

Tags:

Barcelona

Catalunya

Europe

2005

Miro

mercury

fountain

museum « less

Sets appears in: • Spain2005

Groups appears in: • elegance in art and design

Camera: Nikon D70, f/5.0, 1/60 sec, 78mm (=117mm) (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D70
Aperture:	f/5.0
Exposure Time:	0.017 sec (1/60)
Focal Length:	78mm (35mm equivalent: 117mm)
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Unknown (-1)
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS2 Macintosh
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