The reflection of Palais Royal architecture in one of the spheres of Sphérades fountain.
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The reflection of Palais Royal architecture in one of the spheres of Sphérades fountain.
Close up of the spherical fountains Sphérades in the Palais Royal
Fontaines de Pol Bury au Palais Royal
Fontaines de Pol Bury or Sphérades
"The Fontaines de Pol Bury are officially known as Sphérades. You'll find them in the Palais-Royal, in the Cour d'Orléans. This courtyard delineates the Cour d'Honneur from the palace's gardens. The architect Louis Victor designed the two Classical colonnades that encompass it.
The Fontaines de Pol Bury are quite unusual fountains. They are another controversial work of contemporary art that appeared in the Palais Royal under the presidency of François Mitterand.
In 1985, the Ministry of Culture commissioned the Belgian artist Pol Bury (1922-2005) with the creation of two fountains. Pol Bury belonged to the Surrealist cultural movement of the inter war, however, he only started to work with steel and water movement in 1957.
He produced a series of kinetic works, moving spheres and discs, from a wide selection of materials such as wood, cork, stainless steel, brass or copper. Electrified mechanisms hidden inside or at the rear of the spheres operated these art works and produced various lighting effects. In 1976, Bury started to specialize in hydraulic steel fountains and soon mastered hydraulic power to animate steel objects.
Each of the two fountains he created for the Palais-Royal consists of 10 stainless steel spheres. These slowly rotate on their axis under the power of the water flowing over them. However, the mechanisms that operated them wore out relatively quickly and the spheres remained still for years.
The Fontaines de Pol Bury were restored at the same time as the Colonnes de Buren in the Cour d'Honneur (2008/09)."
Source: www.travelfranceonline.com/fontaines-de-pol-bury-palais-r...
Fontaines de Pol Bury aka Sphérades
Metal spheres in the Palais-Royal in Paris.
Sculpture fontaine de Pol Bury (1985), Palais-Royal, Paris, février 2007.
