Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The fountain of the nymph Amalthée, located at Carnot Boulevard at Puy-en-Velay, was erected in 1906 at the initiative of the heirs of Dr. Paul Vibert, a local doctor who died that year. The latter had expressed the wish to replace an existing pillar with a larger monument, surmounted by a reproduction of the sculpture Amalthee and the goat of Jupiter (1786) by Pierre Julien, originally designed for the Queen's dairy at the Château de Rambouillet. The plans were designed by architect Verdier, while the Barbedienne foundry made the bronze reproduction of the carved group.

The bronze bas-reliefs adorning the pedestal, representing dolphins spitting from the water, were created by sculptor Marius Barthélémy, also author of a monument dedicated to Charles Crozatier in 1912. A commemorative plaque recalls the offering of the fountain to the city by the Vibert family. Together, combining white stone and metallic elements, was classified as a Historic Monument in December 2019, highlighting its heritage and artistic importance.

The original work of Pierre Julien, in marble, symbolized Greek mythology through Amalthea, a feeding nymph of Zeus, represented with a goat. The Puy-en-Velay fountain faithfully reproduces its composition, while adapting to an urban context. Its location on a central boulevard and its neoclassical style make it a historical and aesthetic landmark of the city, linked to the memory of a local patron and the artistic heritage of the eighteenth century.

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