March 23, 2015

Vintage Madonna Fountain Papercraft

This antique papercraft was published by Imagerie d'Epinal, a 19th century publishing company based in France.  The model is entitled "Fontaine de la Madone" (Fountain of Madonna). "Madonna" is in reference to the statue of Mary with the Christ Child that adorns the top of the fountain. I was unable to determine if the fountain depicted in this model is real or fictional. As the Epinal company is known for publishing models of romanticized scenes, I suspect the subject of this model is fictional. The 2D figures in the model include a man watering his horses in a side basin, a woman praying in front of the statue, and a man who is apparently getting a drink of water with cupped hands. A scan of the template for the fountain may be found here.

2 comments:

  1. In Condat there is such a madonna not on top of a fontain but in a little church near it. It is possible that the statue has been on the fountain int the past, cause during french revolution it has been hiden and given back years after (then placed in the church).

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