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Piazza Navona and Bernini's Four Rivers Fountain |
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written
by ninamil7 / 09.29.2005 |
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The Four Rivers Fountain has an amazing ability to manipulate its viewers’ movement. Its massive size demands the attention of any visitor coming to the Piazza Navona. Once the viewer is drawn in, the fountain then seems to draw the viewer in a circular motion. There is not one single position that offers a satisfactory view of the entire fountain. In order to see all four river gods, or to find the front of the lion whose rear can be seen on one side, an onlooker must continue moving around the fountain. The idea of a circular motion is especially fitting for the position of the Four Rivers Fountain. It is placed in the center of an oval piazza; thus, by circling the fountain, one in turn ends up circling the entire piazza.
The movement of the viewer is not the only effect this fountain imposes on its visitors. Bernini carved the base of the fountain such that one is left to wonder how the giant obelisk is supported at all. He hollowed out the travertine base so that you can actually see through the sculpture from one side to the other. The sense of disbelief that this wonder inflicts adds to the dramatic effect of the fountain. At the time the fountain was complete, many contemporary critics insisted that the base was not stable enough to support the obelisk and thought that it would come toppling down at any moment. Bernini decided to face his critics head-on in order to stop their disapproval once and for all. He came to the Piazza Navona a couple days after a large storm in which everyone was “sure” the obelisk would fall and pretended to make an hour-long inspection of the fountain. After this inspection, Bernini took four strings that were nailed to the tops of buildings around the piazza and tied them to the top of the obelisk, and then, with a look of satisfaction, drove off in his carriage.
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