Wall Fountains with a single niche during the Renaissance
Wall fountains of the type with a single niche remained popular in Italy, but the delicate carving in low relief which the early masters had lavished upon the architectural members was forgotten with the new interest in wall fountains in the round. The enframement was now left almost severely plain, while the sculptors concentrated upon classic wall fountains, carved completely in the round, within the recess. The basin was usually of an oblong, trough-like shape reminiscent of ancient sarcophagi or of the great bathtubs from Roman thermae. A drawing of some wall fountains by some follower of Mantegna preserved in the Uffizi indicates that this type was already known in Italy in the late fifteenth century; but its full development belongs to the Cinquecento. Wall Fountains of the classic type can still be seen among the paths and roads of many Italian towns.
Such wall fountains flourished particularly at Rome, where the inexhaustible supply of antique marbles for wall fountains could be utilized for their decoration. All that was needed was a niche for the wall fountains, an ancient river god, and a sarcophagus to serve as a basin. The famous garden of the Belvedere in the Vatican, rich in classical sculpture, set the example for such pastiches to all Italy. Four ancient statues were there incorporated into wall fountains; three river gods, the Nile, Tiber, and Tigris, and the recumbent female figure then known as "Cleopatra." It was popular to use these themes in wall fountains for many years.
These wall fountains have long since been dismantled, and their marbles deposited in museums; but a drawing by Martin van Heemskerck preserves the form of the wall fountain of the Tigris, designed by Michelangelo at the request of Clement VII, and therefore to be dated during the years of his pontificate, 1523 to 1534. At first glance, one is struck by the apparent formality of the single niche wall fountains reproduced in the sketches. The architectural enframement was apparently quite innocent of ornament, so that attention was focused chiefly upon the wall fountains of the river god and the richly carved sarcophagus.
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