Fonte Gaia in Siena (1414-19)
by Jacopo della QUERCIA

In December 1408 Jacopo, having returned to Siena, signed a contract to build a new fountain in the Piazza del Campo, the central space of the city: the prestigious commission indicates that he was recognized as Siena's leading sculptor. The Fonte Gaia (Santa Maria della Scala, Siena; the version in the Piazza del Campo is a copy) took its name ('fountain of joy') from the festivity that greeted the arrival of water when it was first brought to this hilltop site in the mid-14th century.

The Fonte Gaia was dedicated to the Virgin, traditional protectress of the city, and its iconography was intended to harmonize with and expand on the themes of good government found in the 14th-century frescoes in the Palazzo Pubblico opposite. The contract was modified in January 1409 to specify a greater number of figures and an increased payment.

Preview Picture Data Info
Fonte Gaia
1408-19
Marble
Piazza del Campo, Siena


Fonte Gaia
1408-19
Marble
Piazza del Campo, Siena


Fonte Gaia
1408-19
Marble
Piazza del Campo, Siena


Fonte Gaia
1408-19
Marble
Piazza del Campo, Siena


Design for the Fonte Gaia (fragment)
c. 1415
Pen and ink on vellum, 153 x 228 mm
Victoria and Albert Museum, London


Design for the Fonte Gaia (fragment)
1415-16
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash on vellum, glued onto secondary paper, 201 x 214 mm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York


Acca Larentia
1414-19
Marble, height 162 cm
Santa Maria della Scala, Siena


Acca Larentia
1414-19
Marble, height 162 cm
Santa Maria della Scala, Siena


Acca Larentia
1414-19
Marble, height 162 cm
Palazzo Pubblico, Siena


Rea Silvia
1414-19
Marble, height 162 cm
Santa Maria della Scala, Siena


Rea Silvia
1414-19
Marble, height 162 cm
Santa Maria della Scala, Siena


Virgin and Child
1414-19
Marble
Santa Maria della Scala, Siena


Creation of Adam
1414-19
Marble
Santa Maria della Scala, Siena


Expulsion from Paradise
1414-19
Marble
Santa Maria della Scala, Siena


Wisdom
1414-19
Marble
Santa Maria della Scala, Siena


Faith
1414-19
Marble
Santa Maria della Scala, Siena


Justice
1414-19
Marble
Santa Maria della Scala, Siena


Prudence
1414-19
Marble
Santa Maria della Scala, Siena


Temperance
1414-19
Marble
Santa Maria della Scala, Siena



Works by Jacopo della QUERCIA
Tomb of Ilaria del Carretto in Lucca | Trenta Altar in Lucca
Fonte Gaia in Siena | Baptismal font in the Baptistery in Siena
Main portal of San Petronio, Bologna | Various works



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