Fontaine de l'Observatoire

Four bronze horses strain against their reins, leaping from a circular pool at the center of the Fontaine de l'Observatoire. Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux sculpted these figures to represent the four continents, turning the globe to support the armillary sphere held by four women above. When the fountain was unveiled in eighteen seventy-four, the Parisians complained that the horses looked too lively and the women seemed to be dancing, a critique that haunted Carpeaux until he died, fearing his work would be torn down.