GOUJON, Jean
(b. ca. 1510, d. ca. 1565, Bologna)

Nymphs (detail)

1547-49
Marble
Musée du Louvre, Paris

One of the most famous work of Goujon is the Fontaine des Innocents, erected in 1550 in rue aux Fers in Paris. There are six narrow reliefs representing nymphs holding urns in various positions.

The fountain was built for the royal entry of June 1549. Originally it was a corner pavilion with two bays fronting the rue aux Fers and a third fronting the rue Saint-Denis. It was remounted as a square pavilion in the nineteenth century. Augustin Pajou was commissioned to carve a supplementary nymph, now on the south side.