The Bassin de Saturne in the Château de Versailles !!!

Posted in Europe, France, Versailles

I bring you back to something very familiar. I have written many posts in my blog about my previous glorious town of Versailles; the choices are a lot more than the palace, indeed , I need to say the Palace/museum of Versailles is worth a kingdom and many things to see that require more than two days to see it all . My nostalgic Versailles is the préfecture capital city of the department 78 Yvelines, in the Île de France region of my belle France.  I like to come back to tell you a bit more on an important element of the Domaine of Versailles, the Bassin de Saturne basin. Hope you enjoy the post as I. 

The bassin de Saturne, or of l’Hiveror the Saturn, or winter basin belongs to all of the seasons basins: the Ceres basin, the Flora basin, the Bacchus basin, the Saturn basin. The large order brings together a set of sculptures commanded by Louis XIV in 1674 in which the statues of the seasons appear. A wonderful walk indeed of many family memories ! The basin is at the intersection of the Allée du Printemps and the Allée de Bacchus-et-de-Saturne. Four groves surround it:the bosquet de la Colonnade and the salle des Marronniers, the bosquet de la Girandole , the bassin du Miroir , and the jardin du Roi, Perfectly symmetrical in the bassin de Flora, the Bassin de Saturne, is located in the southern part and symbolizes the winter season. The golden lead statue of Saturn was produced by François Girardon between 1675 and 1677 ; according to the drawings of Charles Le Brun.

Versailles chateau Bassin de Saturne

This basin was later then the other three ; it was only during the summer of 1677 that the leads were golden by Bailly. The figure of the Titan Saturn was associated over the centuries with the God Chronos, the Greek God of time. Both in brown and Poussin, it is represented in the guise of an old man chenu and bearded that Girardon was largely inspired. Saturn is lying on shells and holds a bag in which he thinks he finds his child Jupiter to eat it. He ignores that his wife replaced his son with a stone. The four loves around him try to dissuade him from committing this crime. In reference to the winter season, they wear a bellows and a mask that evokes carnival, a celebration that takes place in winter. Originally, this composition was surrounded by a garland of shells supported by four hourglasses and four children, hence eight jets of water gushed. As with the other basins in the series of seasons, these ornaments were deleted at the time of changes in the pools in 1681.

The official Château de Versailles on the Bassin de Saturne : https://bienvenue.chateauversailles.fr/en/gardens/to-see/311_saturn-fountain

The official Château de Versailles on the fountains: https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/gardens/fountains#neptune-fountain

The Versailles tourist office on the palace gardens: https://en.versailles-tourisme.com/the-versailles-gardens.html

There you go folks, it is a wonderful basin, and we have many souvenirs of walking by it. The Bassin de Saturne basin is one of the hightlights of the gardens at theDomaine de Versailles. Again, hope you enjoy yjod post on the Bassin de Saturne in the Château de Versailles as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

Unknown's avatar

Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

3 thoughts on “The Bassin de Saturne in the Château de Versailles !!!”

  2. Pingback: Extravagance in Baroque Art – Baroque
  3. Pingback: Baroque in Sculpture – Baroque

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.