Painted by Lucas Cranach the Elder (Lucas Cranach der Ältere, 4 October 1472 – 16 October 1553), was a German Renaissance painter. In 1546, possibly under Italian influence, Cranach composed the Fons Juventutis (“Fountain of Youth”), executed by his son, a picture in which older women are seen entering a Renaissance fountain, and exiting it transformed into youthful beauties (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucas_Cranach_the_Elder.)
The Fountain of Youth is a legendary spring that reputedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks of its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted across the world for thousands of years, appearing in writings by Herodotus, the Alexander romance, and the stories of Prester John. Stories of a similar waters were also evidently prominent among the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean during the Age of Exploration, who spoke of the restorative powers of the water in the mythical land of Bimini.
The legend became particularly prominent in the 16th century, when it became attached to the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León, first Governor of Puerto Rico. According to an apocryphal story that features a combination of New World and Eurasian elements, Ponce de León was searching for the Fountain of Youth when he traveled to what is now Florida in 1513. Since then, the fountain has been frequently associated with Florida (Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_of_Youth)
This elusive “Fountain of Youth” still haunts most of us… or is it a product of one’s imagination?… a wishful thinking?
