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273:. He restored the coat of arms of the Medici family over the fountain, which had been defaced during the Revolution. He inserted two statues into the niches, one representing a faun and the other a huntress, above which are two masks, one representing comedy and the other tragedy. He removed the simple basin and water spout which had been in the niche and replaced them with a long tree-shaded basin. Finally, he removed the statue of Venus and replaced her with a group of statues by
43:
365:, both of which attribute the fountain to Francini. De Brosse is sometimes credited with designing the fountain, but he died in the same year the fountain was built, and before his death he was involved in a lawsuit with Marie de' Medici over non-payment of his fee; court documents detailed all the work he had done for the Queen, and there was no mention of the fountain. See Luigi Gallo, pg. 56.
210:, but the fountain and grotto was most probably the work of Tommaso Francini, the Intendant General of Waters and Fountains of the King. Francini, who emigrated to France at the invitation of Henry IV in 1598 and was naturalized in 1600, had built grottos and fountains in the Italian style for the marquis de Gondi and for the royal chateau of Henry IV at
257:
planned to build the rue de
Medicis through the space occupied by the fountain. The lateral arcades of the fountain and the crumbling old orangerie behind it had already been torn down in 1855. From 1858 to 1864, The new architect, Alphonse de Gisors, moved the fountain thirty meters to make room
320:, and who was himself a sculptor, wanted to preserve the fountain, and in 1858 he had it moved to the Jardin du Luxembourg. Since it was a wall fountain, it had to be attached to something, so he placed it on the back of the Medici Fountain, where it still remains, unnoticed by passers-by. (See also
217:
The first difficulty of construction was the lack of water in the Left Bank of Paris. Unlike the Right Bank, where the water table was near the surface, and there were many wells and two aqueducts which served the city, the water table on the Left Bank was deep underground and all water had to be
230:
were in fashion, the Medici
Fountain fell into disrepair. The two original statues at the top of the fountain, by the sculptor Pierre Biard, two nymphs pouring water from pitchers, had disappeared, and the wall of the Orangerie, against which the fountain was placed, was crumbling.
189:
Marie de' Medici, as widow of Henry IV and mother and regent of King Louis XIII of France, began construction of her own palace, which she called the Palais des
Medicis, between 1623 and 1630, on the left bank of Paris. The new palace was modeled after the
218:
carried from the Seine. As a result, the city had expanded far from the Right Bank of the Seine, but had hardly grown at all on the Left Bank. This problem was finally solved by the construction of the aqueduct of
Arcueil, between 1613 and 1623.
265:, displaced from another neighborhood, was placed directly behind it. (See the Fountain of Leda, below.) He replaced the two original statues of nymphs at the top of the statue with two new statues, representing the Rivers
309:; Leda holds the swan on her knees, and the figure of Amor is shooting an arrow at her from the corner of the sculpture. Water flowed from the beak of the swan down to a hemispherical basin at the foot of the fountain.
807:
440:, texts assembled by Dominque Massounie, Pauline-Prevost-Marcilhacy and Daniel Rabreau, DĂ©legation Ă l'action artistique de la Ville de Paris, Collection Paris et son Patrimoine, Paris, 1995.
81:, (1806-1809), originally at rue Vaugirard and rue du Regard, since 1858 hidden behind the Medici Fountain in the Jardin du Luxembourg. Louis-Simon Bralle, architect, Achille Valois, sculptor.
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After the death of Marie de' Medici, the Palace and fountain went through a series of owners. By the middle of the 18th century, when the fountains of
Versailles and the
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161:, who had worked on fountains in the new gardens of the Medici villas in Florence and Rome, found eager royal patrons in France. Soon features of the
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had been constructed in 1806-1809, during the First Empire, at the corner of rue
Vaugirard and rue du Regard. It was the work of architect
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In 1856, when Baron
Haussmann wanted to extend the rue de Rennes, the chief of the service of Promenades and Plantations of Paris,
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The fountain which Gisors placed behind the Medici
Fountain had a history of its own. The
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For a description of the water shortage on the Left Bank, see
Philippe Cebron de Lisle,
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The Medici
Fountain as it appeared in about 1820, after the modifications made by
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style in France. This community of artists from Florence, including the sculptor
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446:, Yves-Marie Allain and Janine Christiany, Citadelles & Mazenod, Paris, 2006
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125:. It was moved to its present location and extensively rebuilt in 1864-1866.
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for the street, and radically changed its setting and appearance.
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50:, architect of the Arc de Triomphe. (Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris)
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61:, by sculptor Auguste Ottin, was added to the fountain in 1866.
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Buildings and structures in the 6th arrondissement of Paris
238:, the grotto was restored by the neoclassical architect
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Since the fountain no longer stood against a wall, the
305:. The bas-relief of the fountain depicts the story of
438:
Paris et ses fontaines, de la Renaissance Ă nos jours
346:
Paris et ses fontaines de la Renaissance Ă nos jours
141:(1610–1642) saw a great flourishing of the Italian
1556:
129:Italian influence in Paris in the 17th century
113:. Built in about 1630, it was commissioned by
465:
357:See Yves Marie Allain and Janine Christiany,
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31:Architectural drawings of the fountain from
855:Genealogical tables of the House of Medici
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289:The Hidden Fountain - the Fountain of LĂ©da
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26:
18:
206:. The Palace was the work of architect
69:Medici Fountain after its 2021 cleaning
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59:Polyphemus Surprising Acis and Galatea
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281:, in bronze, discovering the lovers
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342:La présence italianne au 17e siècle
149:, helped design the statue of King
13:
1402:Crown of the Grand Duke of Tuscany
1234:Painters, sculptors and architects
137:in France (1559–1589) and that of
133:The period between the regency of
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175:Gardens of the French Renaissance
1307:Poets and other literary figures
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234:In 1811, at the instructions of
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1485:Stories set to music: "opera"
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181:and other royal residences.
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1261:Michelangelo and the Medici
1105:Palazzo Medici di Ottaviano
1055:Casino Mediceo di San Marco
444:L'Art des jardins en Europe
359:L'art des jardins en Europe
10:
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1328:Humanists and philosophers
1080:Palazzo Medici Tornaquinci
418:L'enterprise napoléonienne
222:19th Century modifications
163:Italian Renaissance garden
157:. The fountain technician
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16:Fountain in Paris, France
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242:, the architect of the
1407:Order of Saint Stephen
1288:Antonio del Pollaiuolo
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396:Les fontaines de Paris
380:Paris et ses Fontaines
363:Paris et ses Fontaines
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36:Architecture françoise
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228:Garden à la française
212:Saint-Germain-en-Laye
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1541:48.84806°N 2.33917°E
1372:Emilio de' Cavalieri
1335:Pico della Mirandola
1293:Jacopo della Quercia
1268:Bernardo Buontalenti
1251:Filippo Brunelleschi
1241:Bartolomeo Ammannati
1090:Palazzo delle Vedove
522:Giovanni, Pope Leo X
376:Paris en quĂŞte d'eau
299:François-Jean Bralle
251:Second French Empire
249:In 1864, during the
165:, such as elaborate
135:Catherine de' Medici
123:Louis XIII of France
117:, the widow of King
103:Jardin du Luxembourg
1537: /
1397:Medici coat of arms
1319:Niccolò Machiavelli
782:Vincenzo II Gonzaga
407:Luigi Gallo, pg. 57
121:and regent of King
95:la fontaine MĂ©dicis
23:The Medici Fountain
1575:Fountains in Paris
1565:French Renaissance
1126:Villa di Pratolino
502:Cosimo "The Elder"
322:Fountains in Paris
236:Napoleon Bonaparte
151:Henry IV of France
119:Henry IV of France
107:6th arrondissement
97:) is a monumental
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115:Marie de' Medici
79:Fontaine de LĂ©da
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38:, vol. 2 (1752)
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1439:Medici lions
1416:Institutions
1256:Michelangelo
1214:Old Sacristy
1202:New Sacristy
1075:Villa Medici
999:L'Ambrogiana
984:Arena Metato
874:
834:Don Giovanni
742:
724:Giovan Carlo
714:Ferdinando I
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619:Gian Gastone
599:Ferdinando I
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1544: /
1449:Medici Vase
1423:Medici Bank
1377:Jacopo Peri
1197:San Lorenzo
1188:Magi Chapel
822:Condottieri
743:female line
661:Clement VII
594:Francesco I
1559:Categories
1529:48°50′53″N
1500:Savonarola
1349:Scientists
1283:Michelozzo
1135:Fortresses
979:Marignolle
959:Camugliano
954:La Petraia
949:Spedaletto
939:Mezzomonte
899:Cafaggiolo
703:Alessandro
614:Cosimo III
532:Lorenzo II
424:, pg. 115.
390:A. Duval,
328:References
279:Polyphemus
1532:2°20′21″E
1505:TV series
1365:Musicians
1278:Donatello
1227:Patronage
1034:Seravezza
969:La Topaia
919:La Quiete
883:Buildings
848:Genealogy
739:Francesco
682:male line
675:Cardinals
604:Cosimo II
167:fountains
155:Pont Neuf
143:mannerist
33:Blondel's
1510:episodes
1390:Heraldry
1172:Volterra
1152:Piombino
1147:Grosseto
1100:Materdei
1024:Artimino
1004:La MĂ gia
934:Castello
808:Giuliano
729:Leopoldo
709:Giovanni
705:(Leo XI)
698:Ippolito
686:Giovanni
635:Caterina
589:Cosimo I
571:Cosimo I
543:Ippolito
527:Giuliano
204:Florence
196:Florence
169:and the
99:fountain
1490:Albizzi
1468:Related
1181:Chapels
1157:Pistoia
1085:Livorno
1048:Palaces
1014:Coltano
1009:Liliano
994:Lapeggi
964:Stabbia
914:Fiesole
909:Careggi
904:Trebbio
839:Mattias
798:Filippo
688:(Leo X)
398:, 1813.
105:in the
101:in the
1142:Arezzo
1039:Madama
944:Agnano
891:Villas
813:Zanobi
692:Giulio
666:Leo XI
537:Giulio
488:People
378:, in
171:grotto
91:French
1167:Siena
719:Carlo
656:Leo X
649:Popes
640:Maria
420:, in
344:, in
271:Seine
267:Rhone
111:Paris
1095:Pisa
1029:Buti
324:.).
269:and
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77:The
1432:Art
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