Fountain of the Innocents

The fountain was created to celebrate King Henry II's grand entrance into Paris in 1549. Artists built spectacular, mostly temporary, structures along his path from the Port Saint-Denis to the Palais de la Cité, via le Châtelet, Pont Notre-Dame, and the Cathedral. This fountain, replacing an older one from Philip II's time, stood against the Saints Innocents Cemetery wall, at rue Saint Denis and rue aux Fers (now rue Berger). Designed to be both a fountain and a viewing platform, it had the look of a large house, with street-level water taps and a loggia for officials to greet the king. Originally called the Fountain of the Nymphs, it became a neighborhood water fountain after the procession, with lion head-decorated taps.

By 1787, the adjacent cemetery was turned into a market, and the fountain was nearly demolished. Writer Quatremère de Quincy's plea in the Journal de Paris helped save it. It was then relocated to a basin in the market, elevated on a pedestal with lions and basins, and sculptor Augustin Pajou added a matching fourth façade.

Initially, Paris's weak water system meant the fountain had a low flow. Napoleon Bonaparte's new aqueduct from the River Ourcq changed this, leading to an overflow that damaged the sculptures. Some bas-reliefs were removed in 1810 and later displayed in the Musée du Louvre in 1824.

In 1858, the fountain moved again, this time to its current spot in a square, set on a simple pedestal with six cascading basins on each side.

Pierre Lescot, an influential architect active from 1510 to 1578, played a pivotal role in bringing classical and French Renaissance architectural styles to Paris. Appointed as the main architect for the Palais du Louvre by Francis I, Lescot significantly reimagined the structure, transitioning it from a medieval fortress to a palace exemplifying Renaissance aesthetics. In collaboration with Jean Goujon, he notably enhanced the Cour Carrée of the Louvre with intricate façade decorations.

The design of the fountain, one of Lescot's projects, drew inspiration from the nymphaea of ancient Rome. These were structures or monuments often adorned with statues of nymphs, tritons, and other deities associated with water. Their primary purpose was to shelter and embellish a fountain or spring.

In 1547, renowned sculptor Jean Goujon, appointed as the court sculptor for Henry II, embarked on creating a fountain, marking one of his significant early projects. That year, he also contributed illustrations to the French version of Vitruvius's architectural treatise, a key text influencing Italian and French Renaissance architecture. Goujon collaborated with Pierre Lescot on the Louvre Palace's Cour Carrée bas-reliefs.

Despite his royal appointment, Goujon, a Protestant, sought refuge in Italy during the French Wars of Religion due to Henry II's increasing oppression of Protestants.

Goujon pioneered in French sculpture by drawing from ancient Roman art, especially bas-relief techniques seen on Roman sarcophagi. His fountain featured a nymph and triton reminiscent of a Roman sarcophagus in Grottaferrata, admired by several 16th-century artists, and a triton with hair styled after the ancient River Tiber statue, unearthed in Rome in 1512.

His fountain's design also showed the influence of Italian artists like Rosso Fiorentino and Francesco Primaticcio, who served Francis I at Château de Fontainebleau. The fountain's nymph and sea dragon echoed the pose of Rosso's Fontainebleau nymph, and the nymphs' elongated, idealized forms mirrored Primaticcio's style.

A hallmark of Goujon's style in this work was a dynamic, ornate movement within the sculptures, featuring flowing drapery and spiraling motifs crafted from seashells and sea creature tails.

The principle of restoring the fountain, which is very deteriorated, was announced in July 2019 by Karen Taïeb, deputy to the Mayor of Paris in charge of heritage. The work, estimated to cost 5 million euros, will be carried out based on a restoration protocol determined by a scientific committee for the restoration of the Fountain of the Innocents. The work is expected to begin in 2023.