The wine fountain

The impressive bronze wine fountain is one of the showpieces of our historic style salons. We recently found out that it probably has never had wine splashing out of it, but that does not make the work any less special.

Ko Goubert, collection registrar: "The fountain is in the oldest part of M which dates back to the 19th century. Before it became a museum, it was the Hotel Vander Kelen-Mertens, the town house of mayor Léopold Vander Kelen and his wife Maria Mertens. Following their death, their son Victor donated the property to the city as a museum which formed the very beginning of M."

Innocent scene?

"The fountain depicts a story from Greek mythology. The chief-god Zeus had set his sights on the beautiful Leda, but she wanted nothing from him. To snare her anyway, he turned himself into a swan. The fountain shows the moment when the swan, Zeus in other words, manages to seduce Leda. In our contemporary eyes this is a rape but the story is presented here as an innocent, almost sweet scene. Incidentally, the manner of representation is very special: the theme is an often recurring one in art history, but usually Leda is depicted lying down while the swan overpowers her. Not like here kneeling, in an intimate moment with the bird on her shoulder."

"The fountain was created in 1887 by Jef Lambeaux, who is also known for the Brabofountain in Antwerp's Grote Markt and the Temple of Human Passions in Brussels' Cinquantenaire Park which at the time caused such a stir. The Vander Kelen-Mertens would have known Lambeaux well. We also have other works by his hand in our collection, including 'The Mad Song', which you can see in the collection presentation 'The Ten'. It depicts a dancing satyr and nymph, a dashing, agile work in the typical Lambeaux style. The fountain is by comparison more subdued and decorative. That matches its function."

Exhibition view 'Form first', 2017, M Leuven, photo: © Dirk Pauwels for M Leuven

Watering down the wine

"There is a persistent myth attached to the fountain. Maria Mertens' father was a wine merchant and the Vander Kelen-Mertens continued that trade. That is why people used to think that wine came out of the fountain - hence the nickname 'wine fountain'. But the fountain was recieved extensive conservation work in 2017. To do that, it had to be dismantled and then we asked the conservationist to check whether there could be some truth to that story."

"It turns out that the curling dolphin tails under Leda's feet are not faucets, as we always thought, but have a purely decorative function. The swans, both the large one at the top and the six smaller ones a level below, do have a small hole at the front of their beaks. That is in turn connected to a tube running through the body of each swan, which could be connected to a water supply at the bottom of the fountain, invisible to the observer. This became apparent when the restorer ran water through them using a garden hose: it came back out through those little mouths."

"The bronze basin has no drain at the bottom and thus overflows. Perhaps the fountain used to rest in a larger marble or tiled basin, rather than, as now, on a high plinth in the middle of the precious parquet of the reception room. If a basin like that was used, you could create a permanent water circulation just as with larger fountains."

"We suspect that the fountain once stood in a winter garden or other room with a stone or marble floor, where it could gently flow. There is nothing that indicates that wine ever came out of it. So it seems unlikely, not the least because it would have been unhygienic and difficult to maintain. By the way, the shape of the swan heads makes it very difficult to hold a wine glass under them. We tested that too."

Iconic and mysterious

"We assume the Vander Kelens were attached to their fountain we do not know exactly they used it. It remains a mysterious object."

"Yet, or perhaps for this very reason, the fountain is an iconic piece in our collection. It stands at the centre of the collection presentation 'Form first' and makes an ideal starting point for guided tours. Nearby is the beautiful ceremonial cup from which Mayor Vander Kelen drank the very first glass of Leuven's tap water at the solemn inauguration of the city's waterworks in 1890. We might not be able to offer visitors a glass of wine, but we can offer some fascinating stories (laughs)."