Fontaine de l'Observatoire 2.69

The Fontaine de l'Observatoire is a monumental fountain located in the Jardin Marco Polo, south of the Jardin du Luxembourg in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, with sculpture by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux. It was dedicated in 1874. It is also known as the Fontaine des Quatre-Parties-du-Monde, for the four parts of the world embodied by its female figures, or simply the Fontaine Carpeaux.HistoryThe fountain was first proposed in 1866 as part of the creation of the new grand avenue du Luxembourg, one of the major projects of the plan of Baron Haussmann for the reconstruction of Paris. The project was under the direction of Gabriel Davioud, the director of the Service of Parks and Plantations of the Prefecture of Paris. Davioud was a trained classical sculptor, and he was responsible for the design of the Paris fountains, squares, gates, lamp-posts, benches, pavilions and other architectural details during the Second French Empire.The avenue du Luxembourg project called for the creation of two new squares, with ornamental lamps and columns, statues, and a fountain. The fountain was located on the tree-lined axis between the Observatoire de Paris and the Palais du Luxembourg. The sculpture of the fountain was supposed to be related to the observatory, and instructions of Davioud to the sculptor were simply not to block the view of the domed observatory or the palace.