PHOTO: Maritime Fountain, Paris, France


This is a photo of one of the two fountains at the Place de la Concorde in Paris. This image is of the Maritime Fountain on the side of the monument closest to the River Seine, the other fountain on the north side being the Fountain of the Rivers.

The spray of the water from the fountain is what inspired me to take the photo. If you look closely, in the centre of the photo is a lamp (visible through the spray) and just to the left of the lamp you can see the third platform and summit of the Eiffel Tower. I was struck by the play of light and water in the late afternoon sun.

Although I was inspired to capture the beauty in that moment, the place where I found that beauty has an ugly history. At the time of the French Revolution, the square was named Place de la Revolution. Public executions (over 1,000 of them) were carried out near the location of the fountains, including the beheading (by guillotine) of Louis XVI (sixteenth) the last King of France, and his wife and queen Marie Antoinette.

After the French Revolution, the place was renamed Place de la Concorde (Place of Agreement) as a gesture of reconciliation after the violence and turmoil of the uprising.

Is it not fascinating how we can find beauty amidst the madness of this earthly “Empire of the Fallen”?

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Image: Maritime Fountain, Place de la Concorde, Paris, France. Copyright - Michael Beaton

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