Neptune Fountain

About

The Neptune Basin is an artificial basin located in the park of the Palace of Versailles and named after the Roman god Neptune. It is located in the alignment of the water aisle and the Dragon basin, at the northern end of a south-north axis encompassing the water room of the Swiss, the Orangerie and the Partres d'eau. It was built between 1679 and 1681 under the direction of Le Nôtre and was then named a piece of water under the Dragon.

During the reign of Louis XV, the basin was changed. In 1736, Ange-Jacques Gabriel changed the route a little and in 1740 three groups of lead sculptures were installed: Neptune and Amphitrite (his divine wife) by Nicolas Sébastien Adam and Lambert Sigisbert Adam, Le Dieu Océan by Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, and Protée by Edmé Bouchardon. The new basin then offered important and varied water games, attracting admiration from the Court.