The ''Fontaine Bartholdi'' is a fountain sculpted by

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi ( , ; 2 August 1834 – 4 October 1904) was a French sculptor and painter. He is best known for designing ''Liberty Enlightening the World'', commonly known as the Statue of Liberty. Early life and education Barthol ...

and realised in 1889 by Gaget & Gautier. It was erected at the

Place des Terreaux The Place des Terreaux () is a square located in the centre of Lyon, France, on the Presqu'île between the Rhône and the Saône rivers, at the foot of the hill of La Croix-Rousse in the 1st arrondissement of Lyon, 1st arrondissement. It borders ...

, in the 1st arrondissement of

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, in September 1892.

History

On 20 April 1857, the

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

city council decided to hold a competition to create a fountain for Place Quinconces. Frédéric Bartholdi, then aged 23, won the contest. However, the

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

decided not to carry out his project. After Bartholdi had made the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...

in New York in 1886, the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Bordeaux contacted him, but his new project was canceled after much hesitation. It was finally achieved in 1888, but it was deemed as too expensive and therefore was sold to Lyon. It was unveiled as part of the

Exposition Universelle (1889) The of 1889 (), better known in English as the 1889 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 6 May to 31 October 1889. It was the fifth of ten major expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937. It attracted more t ...

. The fountain was eventually put at the Place des Terreaux and is currently still there. The fountain depicts France as a female (Marianne) seated on a chariot controlling the four great rivers of France,La

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

, la

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

, le

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

, la

Garonne The Garonne ( , ; Catalan language, Catalan, Basque language, Basque and , ; or ) is a river that flows in southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux � ...

; the four rivers of France, a familiar iconological trope, are also represented, by reclining gods and goddesses, in the ''parterre d'eau'' on the

gardens of Versailles The Gardens of Versailles ( ) occupy part of what was once the ''Domaine royal de Versailles'', the royal demesne of the Palace of Versailles, château of Versailles. Situated to the west of the Palace of Versailles, palace, the gardens cover so ...

. represented by wildly rearing and plunging horses, highly individualized but symmetrically arranged, with bridles and reins of water weeds. The fountain weighs 21 tons and is made of lead supported by a frame of iron and was presented at the Exposition Universelle of 1889. It has been classified as

monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

since 29 September 1995. 1892: First inauguration on Place des Terreaux 1995: "Historic monument" classification after its relocation opposite the Fine Arts Museum June 2016: start of the restoration work March 2018: inauguration of the restored, re-watered and lit fountain Total budget for the restoration: 3.58 million euros (including a one million euro contribution from the State)

Restoration

The fountain was removed temporarily in 2015 for restoration and was returned in December 2017,La Fontaine Bartholdi
, Lyon-france.com for a total budget of 2 750 000 euros. The structure was rusted, and the lead statue warped and fractured.

Gallery

File:Fontaine Bartholdi 12.jpg, After 2017 restoration File:Fontaine Bartholdi 13.jpg File:Fontaine Bartholdi 10.jpg File:Fontaine Bartholdi 14.jpg File:Lyon 1e FontaineBartholdi.jpg File:Fontaine de Bartholdi Lyon 250709 08.jpg File:Fontaine Bartholdi3.jpg

References

External links

''Fontaine Bartholdi''
at Lyon's city webpage Fountains in France Outdoor sculptures in France Buildings and structures in Lyon 1st arrondissement of Lyon Lead sculptures Monuments and memorials in France 1889 sculptures Tourist attractions in Lyon Monuments historiques of Lyon Sculptures by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi Sculptures of horses Exposition Universelle (1889) World's fair sculptures Animal sculptures in France {{France-sculpture-stub

History

Restoration

Gallery

See also

References

External links