Four Rivers Fountain, Rome, Italy, 1651

Rome’s love affair with fountains goes back to antiquity, meanwhile the city today can boast a collection of public fountains incomparable to any other city in the world. The purpose of the fountains has changed over time, from reflecting the generosity associated with papal families in Baroque Rome to providing a secure source of potable water to the locals before the days of indoor plumbing; now, an aesthetically pleasing public work of art that depicts a historical Roman artifact. Amongst these fountains exists the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, also known as the Four Rivers Fountain located in the Piazza Navona in Rome.

Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

In 1648, evidently with the help of his close friend Niccolo Ludovisi, Gian Lorenzo Bernini was commissioned by Pope Innocent X to create a fountain that would surround a gift from the Emperor Caracalla – a slender Egyptian obelisk surmounted by a dove – which was previously erected as a central ornament for the piazza.3 However, it was not planned for Pope Innocent X to designate Bernini as the designer of this project; in fact, it was a competition called on by the Pope requiring the leading architects and artists of the time to showcase their design for the fountain.1 However, per Bernini’s biographer Filippo Baldinucci, Bernini’s close friend Ludovisi fooled the pope into giving Bernini the commission;

"So strong was the sinister influence of the rivals of Bernini on the mind of Innocent X that when he planned to set up in Piazza Navona the great obelisk brought to Rome by the Emperor Caracalla which had been buried for a long time at Capo di Bove for the adornment of a magnificent fountain, the Pope had designs made by the leading architects of Rome without an order for one to Bernini. Prince Niccolò Ludovisi, whose wife was niece to the pope, persuaded Bernini to prepare a model, and arrange for it to be secretly installed in a room in the Palazzo Pamphilj which the Pope had to pass. When the meal was finished, seeing such a noble creation, he stopped almost in ecstasy. Being prince of the keenest judgment and the loftiest ideas, after admiring it, said: "This is a trick ... It will be necessary to employ Bernini in spite of those who do not wish it, for he who desires not to use Bernini's designs, must take care not to see them."2

In Bernini’s design, the four Rivers for the fountain are depicted using four gods representing the four great rivers of the four continents as then recognized by the Renaissance geographers.1 The first was the Ganges River in Asia depicting a nonchalant god looking away from the light of the church symbolizing the spiritual ignorance of the self-indulgent land. He holds an oar to represent the navigability of the river which is quite broad and deep.

God representing the Ganges River in Asia in Bernini's Four Rivers Fountain. 

The second river was the Rio de la Plata (translated from Spanish as River of Silver) in America represented by a god throwing his hands back in surprise symbolizing the newly converted lands beginning to see the light. He rests on a pile of coins to show the riches he possesses and intends on bringing to Europe.

God representing the River of Silver in America in Bernini's Four Rivers Fountain.

The next and third figurine was that of the Nile of Africa depicted by a god with a cloth covering his head as a result of the unknown origin of the river at the time. Symbolically, it also refers to what the Catholic world saw as the dark ignorance of the “pagan” world therefore representing this god never seeing the light of Christianity.

God representing the Nile River in Africa in Bernini's Four Rivers Fountain.

Finally, the Danube River in Europe, depicted to be the most “civilized” and cultured of the figures, is illustrated by a god reaching back and touching a papal crest (which holds the keys of St. Peter)4, since the Danube is the closest of the great rivers to Rome. It symbolizes Europe looking toward and embracing the light of the Lord.

God representing the Danube River in Europe in Bernini's Four Rivers Fountain.

The crest holding the keys to St. Peters being touched
by the god representing the Danube River in Europe.

Throughout Bernini’s previous work, it is known that baroque sculpture emphasizes the idea of pushing the figure to its most dynamic position. By capturing what seems like a snapshot of a figure frozen in a moment of passionate action movement, Bernini was able to accomplish this style of art and architecture. Although Bernini gets all of the credit, the majority of the actual construction was carried out by his assistant. The bodies in the sculpture are built out of marble and surrounded by various types of animals including a sea monster, a horse, a lion, and a combination of other realistic and mystical creatures.3

It is believed that much of the locals disapproved of the sculpture at the time of its construction for various reasons. The main reason being that the fountain was being built and paid for by the public of Rome during the famine of 1646-48. Street vendors from the markets in the piazza also protested the fountain claiming it took away from the beauty of the piazza itself. Eventually, all protesters were either chased from the square or simply arrested.

However, in the present day, the sculpture is looked at, as yet another Bernini masterpiece. The theatrical, evocative, and individuality within the sculpture is the epitome of Baroque; and the work in its entirety influenced and shaped many Italian fountains for the century to come. 

                           

1 "Fountain of Four Rivers (Bernini)." Rome.info: Your Travel Guide to Rome. Rome.info, n.d. Web.

2 Bacchi, Andrea, Catherine Hess, Jennifer Montagu, and Anne-Lise Desmas. "5.10." Bernini and the Birth of Baroque Portrait Sculpture. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2008. 234. Print.

3 "Fountain of the Four Rivers." Artble. Artble, 07 May 2015. Web.

4 "BERNINI- “Fontana Dei Quattro Fiumi” or “Fountain of 4 Rivers”." MaItaly. MaItaly, 24 Feb. 2011. Web.