71862 - The fountains of Paris. France - April 1990. The French poet Gaston Bachelard used to impose the "duty of promenading"• upon himself. In "La Poétique de l'Espace" he wrote a page describing the path of his last stroll, certain thereafter of having accomplished his duty, of having "been out". Like Bachelard , photographer Claude Rudelin , a native from Charente in western France, opted to stroll the streets and avenues of the French capital, guided by one driving ambition : visit the fountains of the city. "In the images of the villages of France, built around a source, a well or other water point, I like to believe that Paris too was built around its fountains and basins" says Rudelin. "Parisians didn't even have running water in their homes when the city already boasted a great many "puits" - wells - fountains, basins and other "jeux d'eaux" another word for fountains". Each fountain, by its location, artistry and mere presence of water became a natural meeting place, a site of pleasantry and social life. Rudelin, who enjoys the privilege of living not far from the Seine, departed south to the Sainte Geneviève Mountain on which stands the Pantheon, to the waters of the Luxemburg gardens , and all around, to the many quaint inner courtyards and gardens and their fountains. Up the rue Saint-Jacques to the Contrescarpe Hill, down to Montparnasse and then across the Seine to the Louvre "valley" and the vast spaces of the Champs Elysées. From the Bois de Boulogne to the west to the Bois de Vincennes in the east of Paris, not one arrondissement exists without its treasure-trove of fountains, some of which have been portrayed here. Fountains which will most likely be spotted by the visitor from out of town. Through their vapours Cfaude Rudelin chose to shoot the monuments of his city. The imposing fountains around the Louvre pyramid which had to be adjusted downwards for their water sprayed the glass walls of the Pei pyramid, making it partly opaque. The classic fountains on Place des Vosges, more grandiose on Place de la Concorde, multicoloured opposite the Grande Arche in the modern and high-rise La Défense west of Paris, monumental with La Fontaine des Innocents in the new Forum des Halles complex, and larget still on Place Saint Michel.
71862 - 2 Some punctuate their journey across Paris by the monument, while Claude Rudelin the stroller/ photographer marked fountains as his references. "When fatigue overcomes me, I take a break sitting on the ledge of some “puits”, serenaded by the trickle of water, or the rejuvenating gush of.a more powerful waterwork. The air is ionized and therefore reviving. How sot to appreciate this total isolation from the big bustle of the city when one sits on the grassy slopes near the Trocadero fountains ?" The Trocadéro's 'Swiss Valley'. Rue Amyot was once called the Rue du Puits-qui-Parle (street of the talking well), which is a poem to itself. At the turn of the century Paris counted no l ess than 30,000 private welles. Fountains fed by the sources of Belleville, Rungis, by the river Seine or the Bièvre river, around which congregated water carriers. Armed with his hazelwood cane and eternal camera, Cl aude Rudel in :sought to rediscover some of them, places . which make Paris the garden it remains for connoisseurs. Basking in the wet luxuriance of aquatic lace, in the magic of mastered jets and spraysof water. A joyous distraction every time different; depending on angle of observation, angle of sunlight, and overall weather. Thank goodness that in a day when the capital is modernizing itself, offering visitors and residents new promenades, packs, squares and museums, the fountains have sot been forgotten. Far from it. Stone and water, glass and water, water and steel or bronze, or tile... There is no end to the Parisian penchant for appeasement through water. And no end to Rudelin ' s passion for "fontaines"... Photography by Claude Rudelin / Gamma.
