Skip to main content

Snake fountain in Paris

 


Opposite the entrance gate of the Paris Garden of Plants (Jardin des Plantes) is the snake fountain. Actually, it is called the Cuvier Fountain in memory of Georges Cuvier, a French naturalist and zoologist.  

 

On the corner of Rue Cuvier in the Latin Quarter of Paris, the site was formally the prison of the Abbey of Saint-Victor which had a fountain called the Alexander Fountain or the Brush Fountain. The prison, including the fountain, was demolished in 1840.

 

French architect Alphonse Vigoureux (1802-1853) was the water inspector for the city of Paris. He created the snake fountain from 1840-1846 to pay respect to Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) to replace the Alexander Fountain. Jean Leopold Nicolas Frederic – Baron Cuvier – is best known as the “father of paleontology” and establishing that species extinction was a fact in his work Essay on the Theory of the Earth (1813). The French government listed it as a historical monument in 1984.

 

On top of snake fountain is a young woman, sculpted by Jean-Jacques Feuchère (1807-1852), carrying tablets inscribed with Cuvier’s motto, which comes from a Virgil verse: “To know the cause of things.” Next to the woman is a lion, crocodile, and amphibious marine animals.


Underneath the woman is an ornamental fountain created by French sculptor Pierre-Jules Pomateau. It has a horizontal band – a frieze with the heads of animals and one human; a semi-circular wall; and three columns. Between each column is a snake fountain – three snake heads with a waterspout in each mouth. 

 

Whenever I pass it, I think of it as the Snake Fountain. 





 









As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

MARTINA NICOLLS


MARTINA NICOLLS is an Australian author and international human rights-based consultant in foreign aid evaluations and audits, education, psychosocial support, resilience, peace and stabilization, and communication, including script writing and voice work. She lives in Paris. Her latest books are: If Paris Were My Lover (2025), Tranquility Mapping (2025), Moon, Mood, and Mind Mapping Tracker (2025), and Innovations within Constraints Handbook (2025). She is the author  of: The Paris Residences of James Joyce  (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009). 


 























 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...
1 comment
Read more

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...
1 comment
Read more

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing...
4 comments
Read more