Stille Wasser und Stürmische Wogen, Twin fountain monument in Albertplatz, Dresden, Germany
Stille Wasser und Stürmische Wogen, also known as Still Waters and Stormy Waves, are two fountain monuments on Albertplatz in Dresden, each set in a round granite basin. Both basins carry bronze sculptures above the water, and the two fountains face each other across the square.
Robert Diez designed both fountains between 1883 and 1894, with the first cast in bronze in 1892 and the second completed two years later. The two works were conceived as a pair from the start, meant to stand together on the square.
The two fountains carry names that reflect a contrast between stillness and movement, which visitors can read directly in the water surfaces and the sculptural figures above them. On the calmer basin, the water flows smoothly over the edge, while on the other, the figures lean forward and the water rushes in irregular patterns.
The fountains are lit at night and easy to see at any time of day. Walking around each basin gives a clearer view of the sculptures and the way the water moves around them.
A section of the Stormy Waves fountain was recast specifically for the 1900 Paris World Exhibition, where it won a gold medal. It is rare for a finished public monument to be partially remade for an international show in this way.
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