VWP7+CJ Petrodvortsovy District, Saint Petersburg, Russia
The paired fountains "Adam" and "Eve" are located on the axis of Marlinskaya Alley, the main alley of the park running parallel to the seashore. "Adam" is situated in the eastern part of the park, "Eve" in the western; both fountains serve as compositional and semantic dominants of their respective parts of the park and are placed practically at their central points. Small squares with radiating rays of large and small alleys are formed around them. The fountains attract attention even from afar, appearing in perspectives from different angles at many viewpoints.
Both fountains are identical in artistic and engineering design. The architectural decoration of the fountains is simple: each of the basins, made of hewn profiled granite, is an exact octagon in plan with a diagonal width of 17 m. In the center, on a high pedestal, a sculpture is installed, framed by a circle of sixteen slightly tilted strong and tall jets of water, 7 m high. The fountains are distinguished by their abundant water flow and the beauty of the concise water pattern. The water jets are arranged so that the water, rising high, does not spray but breaks into large drops; their fall into the basin is noticeable even from a distance.
The sculptor, Venetian artist Giovanni Bonazza, received the commission from the Russian diplomatic representative in Italy, S. L. Raguzinsky, acting on behalf of Peter I. (Around the same time, Raguzinsky was involved in purchasing statues for the Summer Garden in St. Petersburg). Probably, the original order envisaged making copies of the famous statues of Adam and Eve that adorn the Doge’s Palace, works by the Renaissance sculptor Rizzi from the 15th century. However, Bonazza, while preserving the overall composition and poses of the statues, interpreted the details differently, filling the plastic forms with Baroque influences. The combination of two stylistic principles determined the sculptor’s creative success: Raguzinsky wrote to Peter I that even "in glorious Versailles few have seen such." In 1718, the sculptures were completed and delivered to Peterhof. At first, they were placed on pedestals as park sculptures in the center of the sites where the fountains were later laid.
In October 1722, when the work on the fountain basin, built according to the project of Nicolo Michetti, was completed, the sculpture of Adam took its current place. Peter was not in a hurry with the installation of "Eve"; the fountain began to operate in the autumn of 1726, already during the reign of Catherine I. The basin of "Eve" was constructed under the supervision of architect Usov.
The symbolism of the fountains was interpreted simply from the start: the biblical Adam and Eve, the ancestors of the human race, are allegories of Peter I and Catherine, the first emperor and empress, the ancestors of the Russian Empire. This allegorical interpretation developed during the reign of Catherine I; it is no coincidence that the second fountain was built by her order. The fountains "Adam" and "Eve" are the only ones in Peterhof to have preserved their original sculptural decoration; they have not been changed for almost three centuries.
The composition of the squares at the fountains is complemented by trellis pavilions. Wooden pavilions appeared here even before the fountains themselves began to operate; their number changed over the years, as did their appearance. The current ones, restored in the 1970s near "Adam" and in 2000 near "Eve," date back to those installed here at the beginning of the 19th century according to Brouwer’s drawings.
Sources:
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Фонтаны_«Адам»_и_«Ева»
