The "bassin de Latone" was designed by André Le Nôtre, sculpted by Gaspard and Balthazar Marsy, and constructed between 1668–1670. The fountain depicts an episode from Ovid´s "Metamorphoses": When Leto (Latone) was wandering the earth after giving birth to Apollo and Artemis, she attempted to drink water from a pond in Lycia. The peasants there refused to allow her to do so by stirring the mud at the bottom of the pond. Leto turned them into frogs for their inhospitality, forever doomed to swim in the murky waters of ponds and rivers.
Although I did not plan it this way, the only time I have been to Versailles, the fountains were in their glory and splendor... simply amazing. I did not know this story about Leto, nor did I know that the design was Le Nôtre's.
ReplyDeleteBises,
Genie
Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI am going to Versailles next year and I was wondering when one needs to go to see the fountains going?
The Wanderfull Traveler