La Fontaine de Médicis

Hidden behind trees in a corner of le Jardin du Luxembourg is La fontaine de Médicis. Marie de Medici commissioned this fountain for the garden. The architect modeled after a grotto in Florence where she walked as a child. She did not have much of an opportunity to walk along this fountain. At the time of its completion, Marie was deeply involved in royal political intrigues that endangered her life and resulted in her exile to Germany. This is now a peaceful shaded oasis in the corner of this popular park. This duck has found a use for this modern public sculpture that was placed in the fountain's basin. The sculpture is of a nude woman whose head and feet are submerged in the basin.