DOI issue:
No. 83 (February, 1900)
DOI article:Nolhac, Pierre de: The early fountains at Versailles
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19784#0037
f
lite Early Fountains at Versailles.
ornamental group was shortly afterwards entrusted
to a Roman sculptor, settled in France, one J. I?.
Tubi, who in due course became one of the most
prominent among the numerous decorators at
Versailles. On the 5th of February, 1669, he
received his first payment "for the fountain decora-
tion representing the Rising Sun," and in the
following year he completed the god, the chariot
and the horses, which were transported by fifty
"pe/t'/s maitrcs dechargeurs de pierre sur le port de
Paris" from the capital to Sevres by water, and
thence by wagon to Versailles. The whales and
the tritons were added shortly afterwards, and the
artist received in all, 15,000 livres for his colossal
work. The ornamentation of the Apollo basin was
like that of all the fountains of the period, done in
what, for convenience sake, was termed lead, but
was really a special material, which contemporary
documents simply styled metail, or metal. It
was actually a mixture of lead and tin. The old
descriptions often speak of " gilded bronze," but
that was a mere fa$on de parler. As a matter of
fact, the statues were frequently being re-coated
24
with bronze paint. Tubi's figures were painted
in this way, immediately after their erection.
(Hiding was no longer required.
The ornamentation of the Bassin de La/one, as
we see it to-day, belongs unquestionably to the
Louis Quatorze period ; but at the same time it
is not quite as originally designed. The brothers
Marsy had this commission simultaneously with
Tubi's commission for the "Apollo," and the rival
sculptors finished their work practically at the
same time In the course of his friendly relations
with the artists of the day, La Fontaine saw the
Marsys' model in their studio, and described it
in exaggerated verse :—
Au bas de ce degre, Laton* et ses gemcaux
De gens durs et grossiers font de vils animaux,
Les changent avec l'eau que sur eux its repandent. . . .
La scene est un bassin d'une vaste etendue.
When, on the 24th of December, 1670, the
Marsys received their full payment of 5,000 livres,
the fountain adorned by their statues was just as it
is represented in the old-fashioned plates. The
" Latona " group is situated on a rock, but slightly
lite Early Fountains at Versailles.
ornamental group was shortly afterwards entrusted
to a Roman sculptor, settled in France, one J. I?.
Tubi, who in due course became one of the most
prominent among the numerous decorators at
Versailles. On the 5th of February, 1669, he
received his first payment "for the fountain decora-
tion representing the Rising Sun," and in the
following year he completed the god, the chariot
and the horses, which were transported by fifty
"pe/t'/s maitrcs dechargeurs de pierre sur le port de
Paris" from the capital to Sevres by water, and
thence by wagon to Versailles. The whales and
the tritons were added shortly afterwards, and the
artist received in all, 15,000 livres for his colossal
work. The ornamentation of the Apollo basin was
like that of all the fountains of the period, done in
what, for convenience sake, was termed lead, but
was really a special material, which contemporary
documents simply styled metail, or metal. It
was actually a mixture of lead and tin. The old
descriptions often speak of " gilded bronze," but
that was a mere fa$on de parler. As a matter of
fact, the statues were frequently being re-coated
24
with bronze paint. Tubi's figures were painted
in this way, immediately after their erection.
(Hiding was no longer required.
The ornamentation of the Bassin de La/one, as
we see it to-day, belongs unquestionably to the
Louis Quatorze period ; but at the same time it
is not quite as originally designed. The brothers
Marsy had this commission simultaneously with
Tubi's commission for the "Apollo," and the rival
sculptors finished their work practically at the
same time In the course of his friendly relations
with the artists of the day, La Fontaine saw the
Marsys' model in their studio, and described it
in exaggerated verse :—
Au bas de ce degre, Laton* et ses gemcaux
De gens durs et grossiers font de vils animaux,
Les changent avec l'eau que sur eux its repandent. . . .
La scene est un bassin d'une vaste etendue.
When, on the 24th of December, 1670, the
Marsys received their full payment of 5,000 livres,
the fountain adorned by their statues was just as it
is represented in the old-fashioned plates. The
" Latona " group is situated on a rock, but slightly