Project for a Fountain for La Place du Carrousel 1801 - 1811

Pierre François Léonard Fontaine drafted this design for a fountain at La Place du Carrousel in pen and brown ink with gray wash. Fontaine lived through the French Revolution, the Napoleonic era, and the Restoration, a period of profound social and political change. The fountain, while never realized, embodies the complex relationship between power, identity, and representation during this era. Its design, undoubtedly intended to project an image of grandeur, invites us to reflect on the role of public art in shaping collective memory. What does it mean to envision a space intended for all, yet designed through a lens of privilege and power? As you look, consider the narratives and identities that are amplified, as well as those that are silenced. Consider the politics of aesthetics, and how Fontaine’s vision participates in constructing a particular version of French identity.