Restored Grenelle Fountain of 1745 in Paris with allegories of the city and the seasons

Let us stroll to the recently restored Fontaine de Grenelle of 1745, from which the water has already been switched off. For all the monumentality of its architecture, the fountain's decoration is rather modest, but what interests us are the allegories of the seasons concealed in the bas-reliefs of children's games, and the central figure in white marble.

The woman enthroned there is the image of the city of Paris, crowned with a mural crown. To her left is the Seine, to her right its confluence with the Marne. In the cartouches we find the arms of the city of Paris and garlands of fruit, the chief element of which is the melon.

The architecture, with its Doric columns and pediment, creates the impression of a proscenium. A large inscription in Latin, in gilded letters, refers to the military glory of Louis XV.

The most emblematic part of the fountain is the four allegories of the seasons in their niches, each accompanied by a charming bas-relief of children's games that explains the season.

As for the Lady of Paris, it is curious that in literary French the names of cities are feminine, while in the spoken language they are masculine, so that Paris est belle and Paris est beau are both heard at once! Hence on the Place de la Concorde we meet female sculptures representing the eight principal French cities of the nineteenth century: Brest, Rouen, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nantes, Lille and Strasbourg