The Golden Fountain

About this work

Symmetry is the whole idea here, and it works like a stage set. The outer arches are wide, the inner ones narrower and narrower, so each band of black, cream marble, bronze and gold steps the eye a little further towards the middle. There a stepped pyramid rises, and down its face the waterfall falls in three distinct tiers, carrying the gaze back to the bottom edge in a steady cascade. At the very top of the innermost arch a small gold sunburst fan crowns the composition like a keystone. Two vertical strips of light at the sides stop the frame from feeling heavy. Close up, the marble bands show their pale stone surface and each tier of water reads on its own; from further away the picture becomes a pattern of curves and steps, cool cream against warm metal.

Fountains were one of the signature motifs of the 1925 Paris Exposition internationale des Arts décoratifs et industriels modernes, the exhibition that later gave Art Deco its name, although the term itself only became common in the 1960s. The most talked-about example was a tall glass fountain by René Lalique, around fifteen metres high, ringed with moulded glass figures of women and lit from within after dark. Stylised jets and cascades soon spread to wrought-iron gates, lift doors, textiles and pressed-glass panels, and the so-called frozen fountain became shorthand for modern elegance. The Golden Fountain follows that habit, turning moving water into stepped bands of ornament and framing it with round arches and a small sunburst from the same design vocabulary.

Hang it next to Golden Skyline and the stepped forms carry on from the fountain into the towers, or set it with Athena in Gold for a cool pairing of marble and gilding. Taupe, stone, warm grey and soft black walls all flatter the cream bands, whereas strong colours can overwhelm its quiet balance. Choose a thin bronze or champagne gold frame with a cream mat of around six centimetres, or a black float frame for a sharper look. A picture light from above adds a glow to the gold arches. Printed from the 7168 × 10752 px file, it stays sharp to about 60 × 90 cm, large enough for a hallway wall. A Frame TV version with a gallery mat comes with the download.