GARDEXX 01' THE or/K/.Y.I/., .-/.\7) SOME STREET FOUNTAINS I\ ROME. 85 



origin of its design has 

 been much disputed. 

 The art of constructing 

 these grandiose foun- 

 tains seems to have died 

 with Bernini, making it 

 difficult to believe that 

 we do not here see his 

 inspiration. It has all 

 his fantastic impetuos- 

 ity, his vigour, and his 

 feeling for decoration. 

 It is satisfactory that the 

 researches of Signor 

 Fraschetti have gone far 

 to establish Bernini's 

 claims to its conception. 

 More than one diary of 

 the time records that 

 Bernini was planning a 

 great facade for Pope 

 Urban's new fountain ; 

 and Prince Doria pos- 

 sesses a sketch signed 

 by Bernini and stamped 

 by Innocent X, which 

 has evidently been the 

 original idea of the de- 

 sign for the central 

 group. It has the figure 

 of Neptune grasping the 

 trident and rising from 

 a shell, the sea-horses, 

 the dolphins, and the 

 merman sounding his 

 wreathed horn. Bernini 

 always made numbers 

 of sketches for every 

 work he undertook. 

 The first design of 

 Salvi, whose nominal 

 work it is, is much 

 nearer to the Doria 

 sketch than the ultimate 

 execution which he 

 directed. In an account 

 of Salvi, to be seen in 

 the Vatican library, his 

 study of and reverence 

 for Bernini's work are 

 specially dwelt upon. 

 The ornamentation 

 of the fountain was 

 carried out under 



95. THE QUATTRO FONTANE, ROME. 



' an old engraving. 



DETAIL OF ONE OF THE ANGLE FOUNTAINS, QUATTRO FONTANE, 



ROME. 



