Fontana delle Tartarughe (Rome, Italy) : Close profile view of one ephebe, depicting how he holds the tail of the dolphin with one hand and helps the tortoise with the other
- Creator:
- Bernini, Gian Lorenzo, 1598-1680 (attributed)
Landini, Taddeo, ca.1550-1596
Porta, Giacomo della, 1532/1533-1602 or 1604 - Published/Created:
- Piazza Mattei, Rome, Lazio, Italy
1658-1659 (alteration); ca. 1581-1588 - Date Depicted:
- ca. 1990's
1500 AD - 1699 AD - Materials:
- bronze
marble - Notes:
- Between 1585 and 1588 Landini executed his most famous work, the so-called Fonte delle Tartarughe (Rome, Piazza Mattei), named after the tortoises (added in 1658) that clamber from the bronze youths’ hands into the upper basin of the fountain. Although the overall design was made in collaboration with Giacomo della Porta, Landini was solely responsible for the spirited boys (ephebes), whose lively poses and arrangement around the basin recall Florentine fountain designs of the previous generation. The ephebes, raise their arm towards the overhanging marble basin. In the original plans they touched another four bronze dolphins spouting water. These were removed because of a problem with water pressure serving the fountain. Pope Alexander VII commissioned a restoration of the fountain in 1658-1659. As a part of this restoration, Bernini (or Andrea Sacchi) added the struggling tortoises to complete the composition.
- Variant Titles:
- Fountain of the Tortoises
- Topics:
- Fountains -- Italy -- Rome (LC)
- Period/Style:
- Baroque
Mannerist - Culture:
- Italian
- Accession Number:
- 1A1-DP-FT-B5
- Genre:
- fountains (AAT)
- Format:
- Image
- Content Type:
- Sculptures, Models, & Architecture
- Rights:
- Copyright Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc
The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement. - Access Restrictions:
- Yale Community Only
- Digital:
- animal; human figure; Fountains; youths, turtles, tortoise casting ; construction built works; hydraulic structures; water distribution structures; fountains; visual works; sculpture (visual work) fountain; dolphin; tortoise; Ephebe
- Source Creator:
- Gilchrist, Scott
- Source Title:
- Archivision Module One
- Source Created:
- 2878 Chamonix, Montreal QC
Archivision, Inc.
ca. 1990's - Source Note:
- Purchase, Visual Resources Collection, May, 2011; photographer Scott Gilchrist
- Yale Collection:
- Visual Resources Collection
- Digital Collection:
- Visual Resources Collection
- Local Record Number:
- 4152
- OID:
- 10110138
- PID:
- digcoll:1830127