Design for a Monumental Fountain 1750 - 1770

Editor: Here we have Jean Dominique Etienne Le Canu’s “Design for a Monumental Fountain,” created sometime between 1750 and 1770. The pencil and watercolor on toned paper really evoke a sense of classical grandeur, though the execution is quite subtle. I'm curious, what catches your eye when you look at this work? Curator: Oh, this takes me back! I imagine Canu dreaming of sun-drenched piazzas, doesn't it? The architectural precision, that theatrical flourish with Neptune – or is it Poseidon feeling particularly French? – holding court, perched above the cascading water… It’s not just design; it’s stagecraft. It reminds me a bit of Piranesi, but with a touch more whimsy. And that toned paper— it lends the drawing an air of instant history, as if discovered in a dusty archive. Doesn’t it almost smell of old parchment and ambition? Do you think he ever got to build it? Editor: I don't think so, I can't imagine seeing anything like this still. What's particularly interesting to me is how stark and gray the piece feels, while the intended function and subject matter are about vibrant movement. Curator: Absolutely! It’s that tension, isn't it? The stilled potential, a dream rendered in monochrome. You see all that contained energy yearning to burst forth. The restraint amplifies the fantasy, gives it that tantalizing ‘what if?’ I keep expecting the water to start flowing any minute now… Editor: That makes me look at the whole piece a little differently now, seeing that controlled release of potential rather than a simply frozen design. Curator: Exactly. Art invites that dialogue, that back and forth, doesn’t it? And isn't that, ultimately, what makes it so invigorating?