Fontaines de la Concorde

The two bronze fountains at the Place de la Concorde cast long shadows across the square, defined by their shimmering sea-blue tiles and seated figures of river gods. King Louis Philippe commissioned these works in the eighteen thirties, intending to mirror the grand aesthetic of Saint Peter's Square in Rome. When the architect Jacques Ignace Hittorff unveiled them, he insisted the statues be made of cast iron painted to look like bronze, a cost-saving measure that eventually required a complete overhaul using real metal.