It illustrates the story of Latona, the mother of Apollo and Diana, protecting her children from the insults of the peasants of Lycia and pleading with Jupiter to avenge her. Latona’s fountain was inspired by The Metamorphoses by Ovide. It currently has 99 jets, constituting an extraordinary hydraulic system. The new fountain was officially opened by Louis XV and was greatly admired for the number, size and variety of water jets falling around the lead sculptures. During the following reign, the shape of the pool was modified slightly in 1736 by Ange-Jacques Gabriel and in 1740 it was given its definitive sculpted features composed of three groups: Neptune and Amphitrite by the Lambert brothers, Proteus by Edme Bouchardon, and Oceanus by Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne. The original design consisted of marine decoration on the theme of Neptune, but the large groups planned were never built during the reign of Louis XIV. At the time it was called the Lake below the Dragon Fountain, or Lake of the Pines. The Neptune Fountain was made between 16 and its construction was overseen by Le Nôtre. On either side of the fountain, whose central sculptural group was reproduced in 1889, are alleys leading to two groves: France Victorious to the south and the Three Fountains to the west. The main water jet reaches a height of 27 metres and is the tallest among the fountains in the gardens of Versailles. The reptile is surrounded by dolphins and Loves armed with bows and arrows and riding swans. This piece represents an episode from the legend of Apollo, in which the serpent Python was killed by an arrow shot by the young Apollo. The Water Walk ends in a semi-circle at the Dragon Fountain. In each piece, the water jet of the victorious animals falls into the upper basin, while the jet of the defeated animals falls into the lower basin. To the north, the Diana or Evening Fountain features a lion bringing down a wolf (by Cornelius Van Cleve) and a lion bringing down a wild boar (by Jean Raon) to the south, the Daybreak Fountain features a tiger bringing down a bear and a bloodhound bringing down a stag (by Jacques Houzeau). They are composed of fighting animals and demonstrate impressive realism. West of the Water Parterre and on either side of the central axis are two fountains designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, made in 1687. From a viewpoint at the end of Latona’s Parterre and the entrance to the Royal Way all four fountains can be admired at once. The Spring Fountain or Flora Fountain (1674) and the Summer Fountain or Ceres Fountain (1673) are to the north, while to the south are the Autumn Fountain or Bacchus Fountain (1674) and the Winter Fountain or Saturn Fountain (1677). At the four crossroads of the principle alleys stand four fountains, built in the 1670s and dedicated to the four seasons. The Palace garden is designed around alleys running parallel or perpendicular to the Royal Way and marking out groves.
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