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Cincinnati’s pride and joy is the spectacular fountain located at the city center, “Fountain Square”. First erected in 1871, the fountain’s central figure is that of a woman with outstretched arms. Water from inside the body cavity escapes through four hundred tiny holes in the palms of each hand.
The woman figure is nicknamed “The Genius Of Water”. Her outstretched hands symbolize the gift and many benefits of water in society. First conceived in Bavaria in the 1840’s, the design was a reaction to traditional fountains of the day that represented ancient gods and other pagan images.
August von Kreling, the young sculptor who produced the drawings for the fountain, had first submitted the design to the king of Bavaria in 1854. King Ludwig rejected it. The drawings were then put aside for later possible use.
In 1866, American businessman Henry Probasco of Cincinnati visited Bavaria in search of a foundry that could produce a large fountain to be placed in honor of his deceased brother-in-law and business partner, Tyler Davidson. In Munich, he was welcomed by Ferdinand von Miller, master at the Royal Bronze Foundry. Probasco rejected the classical designs that featured Neptune and pagan nymphs, and was delighted when von Miller showed him the drawings done by von Kreling twelve years before.
Von Kreling’s concept for “the genius of waters” was inspired by an image on a Catholic medallion he had seen in France some years before. It presented the Blessed Virgin Mary with arms outstretched, and rays of light issuing from her hands bringing grace and blessings. The young sculptor was struck by the parallel between the rays of light in the medallion and the streams of water in a fountain, both signs of blessing for mankind, and the concept was the inspiration of his fountain figure.
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