The Stone Flower Fountain, Soviet-era fountain in Ostankinsky District, Russia.
The Stone Flower Fountain stands on the Central Alley of VDNH, facing the Ukraine pavilion. Its centre is a huge flower assembled from concrete slabs faced with multicoloured smalt mosaic, made in the workshop of the USSR Academy of Arts, on a two-tier base of fine red granite. Around the pool rim are sixteen granite tables laden with foodstuffs, plus bronze goose and sturgeon spouts.
Built in 1954, the fountain was created as part of the Exhibition of Economic Achievements, a Soviet project showcasing national accomplishments. Architect Konstantin Topuridze and sculptor Prokopy Dobrynin worked together on this creation, expressing Soviet artistic ideals.
The fountain takes its name from Pavel Bazhov's tale "The Stone Flower" and from the 1946 film and 1954 Prokofiev ballet based on it. Around the basin stand sixteen granite tables laden with foodstuffs of the Soviet republics; only three compositions were made and copied onto the rest. Bronze geese and sturgeon figures once spouted water.
The fountain is best viewed during warmer months when water displays are in full operation and most visible. Visitors can explore the fountain as part of a walk through the exhibition complex, which offers many other sites to see.
The fountain's central flower is assembled from large concrete slabs faced with multicoloured smalt, produced in the workshop of the USSR Academy of Arts. Its two-tier base is clad in fine red granite. Some researchers compare its stepped composition to the Latona Fountain built at Versailles in 1670.
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