Mercury fountain
The Mercury fountain was made in 1937 by alexander calder and is Located inside the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona. For many years, the world’s greatest source of mercury were the mines at Almadén, Spain, the mine had the world's largest source of cinnabar, which when extracted can produce mercury. The cinnabar in the mine produced around 250,000 metric tons of mercury over a 2 millenia time period. Unfortunately, the mine closed at the year 2000 due to the ban limiting the use of mercury. I think that Alexander Calder decided to use mercury to be part of his project because mercury is a very toxic metal and the metal had killed many of the slaves working at the mine. I think the fountain is like a sign saying and showing that many people died to get something beautiful and that the war is not worth the casualties. The fountain was made at the height of the 3 year civil war. At the time the city and the mines were was siege by genro franco's fascist troops. The mines were a key part to the republican government since they needed were exporting the mercury from those mines. The government also needed the mercury to make more ammunition for the war. Because the government where struggling to take back almaden and the mines, The republican government hired Alexander Calder to create a monument denouncing the siege of Almadén and to also represent the many slaves that died due to mercury poisoning in the mines. The fountain was presented at the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris along with Pablo picasso's Guernica which was also announcing the spanish civil war.
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A mercury fountain is a fountain constructed for use with mercury 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.
Calder's Mercury Fountain
The most noted example is a modern sculpture designed by the American artist Alexander Calder and commissioned by the Spanish Republican government for the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris. The artwork is a memorial to the siege of Almadén, which then supplied 60 percent of the world's mercury, by General Franco's troops. A direct counterpart is Picasso's Guernica, Calder's Mercury Fountain, now at the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona, is displayed behind glass for safety reasons.
External links
- Calder's Mercury Fountain at the Fundació Joan Miró
- Photos of Calder's Mercury Fountain by Mary Ann Sullivan
- Video of Calder's Mercury Fountain
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