Fontaine Pradier, Marble fountain at Esplanade Charles de Gaulle, Nîmes, France.

The Pradier Fountain is a marble monument on Esplanade Charles de Gaulle featuring a central female figure encircled by four statues representing local rivers. The central figure wears a decorated crown and commands the plaza with its sculptural details.

The fountain emerged from a competition among 27 submitted designs, created according to plans by architect Charles Questel and sculptor James Pradier. Its construction resulted from this award given to both artists in 1851.

The four seated figures around the column are two men and two women, each holding an urn or shell whose basin catches the water. Their Latin names are cut into the bases: Nemausa for the Fontaine de Nîmes, Vardo for the Gardon, Ura for the Fontaine d'Eure and Rhodano for the Rhône. The central standing woman wears the arènes and the colonnade of the Maison Carrée as her crown.

The fountain stands on the paved open square of the Esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle, a broad public esplanade rather than a walled garden. It is an open-air monument visible at any hour, with no gate or ticket, and its position on the esplanade makes it a useful orientation point when walking between the Arena and the Maison Carrée.

The four seated river figures are identified by Latin names carved on their bases: Nemausa, Vardo, Ura and Rhodano. Rhodano stands for the Rhône, not the Rhine, and Nemausa for the spring that fed the Roman colony. Visitors can read these inscriptions at the foot of each statue.