Drawings for the great fountains of Rome and Paris

Magazine Antiques, Sept, 1998 by Marilyn Symmes

After he came to power in 1830 Louis Philippe rejected the result of the competition, resurrected the Place de la Concorde name, and proposed other schemes for the square. When Mohammed Ali, the viceroy of Egypt, offered the king a Ramses II obelisk from Luxor, the problem of how to distinguish the square as an important landmark was solved. In 1832, without a competition, Hittorff was commissioned to redesign the entire square.(14) The watercolor shown in Plate IX is one of Hittorff's early fountain designs, adapted from the Italian fountains he had studied during his travels in the early 1820s. The central feature is an inverted bowl that shapes the veil of water pouring into the lower basin. Hittorff modeled this on the grand twin fountains in Saint Peter's square in Rome, which, notably, flank one of the most prominent obelisks in the world.(15) This mushroom-cap design became the crowning element of the fountains ultimately executed for the Place de la Concorde.

Hittorff made many revisions to his design for the square, reflected in numerous drawings. One of several schemes shows the obelisk surrounded by fountains. However, after learning that four or more fountains in the square would deprive reservoirs and drinking fountains, Hittorff planned two fountains flanking the obelisk.(16) His final design was approved in April 1835 and construction began in April of the following year. The obelisk was erected on October 25, 1836, witnessed by immense crowds. It became the focal point of the long axis between the Musee du Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe, and the cross axis between the Madeleine and the Palais Bourbon.

Hittorff was responsible for the shape of the fountains, but C. P. B. Rambuteau, prefect of the Seine, orchestrated their iconography. He wanted them to be a patriotic display of the natural bounty and enterprise of France as well as conspicuous evidence of the city's mastery of hydraulic engineering Hittorff worked with a team of twelve sculptors to coordinate the relationships between the figurative sculptures so that they would appear unified in the final groupings.(17) Following the tradition of incorporating mythological figures to symbolize the many powers of water, sea and river gods are prominent.

Hittorff dedicated the splendid presentation drawing shown on the frontispiece to Rambuteau, who kept it until his death. It shows the Maritime Fountain, the one closest to the Seine, on which two large figures represent the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Four smaller figures, each seated on the prow of a ship, the symbol of Paris, represent coral, fish, shells, and pearls - all aspects of the fishing industry. Above the main basin, genii symbolize the triumphs of maritime navigation, astronomy, and commerce. At the edge of the pool, Tritons and Nereids hold fish that shoot water backwards into the main basin.

The fountain on the north side of the Place de la Concorde has large figures symbolizing the two greatest rivers in France, the Rhone and the Rhine, which empty into the Mediterranean and the Atlantic respectively The other figures personify the harvests: wheat, grapes, flowers, and fruit. The three genii above represent river navigation, agriculture, and industry.