La fontaine des Innocents
Sculptural decoration
In 1547 Jean Goujon (1510-1572) became the court sculptor for Henry II, and the fountain was one of his first important commissions. In the same year he made illustrations for the French translation of the book of architecture by Vitruvius, one of the major classical sources of the architecture of the Italian Renaissance and the French Renaissance. Later he worked again with Pierre Lescot on the bas-reliefs for the Cour Carrée of the Louvre Palace.
Though he was the court sculptor of Henry II, Goujon was a Protestant, and he was forced to go into self-exile in Italy during the French Wars of Religion, when Henry II began serious persecution of Protestants in France.
Goujon was one of the first French sculptors to take his inspiration from the sculpture of ancient Rome, particularly the bas-relief sculptures on Roman sarcophagi. The nymph and triton on one of the fountain panels (see illustration) resembled a Roman sarcophagus in Grottaferrata, which was one display when Goujon was in Rome, and which was drawn by many artists in the 16th century. The Triton’s hair resembled that in an ancient statue of The River Tiber discovered in Rome in 1512.
Goujon’s work on the fountain was also inspired by the Italian artists who had come to work for Francis I at the Château de Fontainebleau, Rosso Fiorentino (1495-1540) and Francesco Primaticcio (1504-1570). The nymph and sea dragon on the fountain had the same pose as nymph of Fontainebleau, by Rosso, in the Galerie François I of the chateau, and the female forms of the nymphs, with their elongated bodies, narrow shoulders, and small, high breasts, resembled the idealized female figures of Primaticcio.
Goujon’s own personal contribution was to add a decorative swirling movement to the sculptures, with undulating drapery and curling scrolls made of sea shells and the tails of sea creatures
La fontaine des Innocents
Sculptural decoration
In 1547 Jean Goujon (1510-1572) became the court sculptor for Henry II, and the fountain was one of his first important commissions. In the same year he made illustrations for the French translation of the book of architecture by Vitruvius, one of the major classical sources of the architecture of the Italian Renaissance and the French Renaissance. Later he worked again with Pierre Lescot on the bas-reliefs for the Cour Carrée of the Louvre Palace.
Though he was the court sculptor of Henry II, Goujon was a Protestant, and he was forced to go into self-exile in Italy during the French Wars of Religion, when Henry II began serious persecution of Protestants in France.
Goujon was one of the first French sculptors to take his inspiration from the sculpture of ancient Rome, particularly the bas-relief sculptures on Roman sarcophagi. The nymph and triton on one of the fountain panels (see illustration) resembled a Roman sarcophagus in Grottaferrata, which was one display when Goujon was in Rome, and which was drawn by many artists in the 16th century. The Triton’s hair resembled that in an ancient statue of The River Tiber discovered in Rome in 1512.
Goujon’s work on the fountain was also inspired by the Italian artists who had come to work for Francis I at the Château de Fontainebleau, Rosso Fiorentino (1495-1540) and Francesco Primaticcio (1504-1570). The nymph and sea dragon on the fountain had the same pose as nymph of Fontainebleau, by Rosso, in the Galerie François I of the chateau, and the female forms of the nymphs, with their elongated bodies, narrow shoulders, and small, high breasts, resembled the idealized female figures of Primaticcio.
Goujon’s own personal contribution was to add a decorative swirling movement to the sculptures, with undulating drapery and curling scrolls made of sea shells and the tails of sea creatures