Medici Fountain
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The Medici Fountain is a monumental fountain in the Jardin du Luxembourg in the 6th arrondissement in Paris. Built in about 1630, it was commissioned by Marie de' Medici, the widow of King Henry IV of France and regent of King Louis XIII of France. It was moved to its present location and extensively rebuilt in 1864-1866.
The Medici Fountain
Architectural drawings of the fountain from Blondel's Architecture françoise, vol. 2 (1752)
The Medici Fountain as it appeared in about 1820, after the modifications made by Jean Chalgrin, architect of the Arc de Triomphe. (Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris)
Polyphemus Surprising Acis and Galatea, by sculptor Auguste Ottin, was added to the fountain in 1866.
Fountain
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A fountain, from the Latin "fons", meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect.
(Center) Jet d'eau, (Geneva, Switzerland) Clockwise from top right (1) Fontana di Trevi (Rome) (2) Place de la Concorde (Paris) (3) Fountain in the Garden of Versailles (Versailles) (4) The Hundred Fountains, Villa d'Este (Tivoli, Italy) (5) Fuente de los Leones, (The Alhambra, Granada) (6) Fountain in St. Peter's Square (Rome) (7) Samson and the Lion fountain (Peterhof, St. Petersburg, Russia) (8) Dubai Fountain (Dubai)
An Egyptian fountain on the Temple of Dendera
Attic Greek vase from South Italy, about 480 B.C.
Hellenistic fountain head from the Pergamon museum