The Fountain of Astronomy, also known as Fontaine de l'Observatoire in French, is a huge fountain located in the Luxembourg Park in the sixth arrondissement of Paris. Below this fountain is a beautifully sculpted bronze animal group, and on the central platform, four bronze nude girl figures together hold up a sphere symbolizing the four seasons of the Earth.

It is also known as the "Fountains of the World" (because the four girls embody the four main parts of the world). Built in 1874, it was completed by four sculptors, but the public generally regards it as a representative work of the famous French sculptor Jean Baptiste Carpeau (1827-1875). It is one of the most famous sculptures in France.

Fountain was first proposed in 1866 as one of the main projects of Baron Ottoman's reconstruction plan for Paris, creating the new Grand Avenue Luxembourg. This project was led by Gabriel Davioud, a well-trained classical sculptor who was responsible for designing the fountains, squares, doors, lamp posts, benches, pavilions, and other architectural details of Paris during the Second French Empire. At that time, the construction of Gran Avenue required the creation of two new squares, decorated with lamps, columns, Buddha statues, and fountains. The fountain has been identified as located between the tree lined Paris Observatory and the Luxembourg Palace. The name of the astronomical spring comes from this. The fountain of the sculpture corresponds to the observatory, and according to David's requirements, the sculpture cannot obstruct the view of the observatory or palace.
Jean Baptiste Calpo took on this task and was responsible for carving the upper part of the fountain, which is the part of the Four Girls we see. Jean Baptiste Calpo once studied under Fran ç ois L ü de (who created sculptures from the Arc de Triomphe). At that time, Jean Baptiste Calpo had already won the Rome Prize as early as 1854. In 1869, he created the group sculpture "Dance" placed on the facade of the Paris Opera House, which was controversial because the sculpture expressed free speech and the unrestrained emotions of the characters were different from the neoclassical sculptures of the time. Before starting this creation, his initial research was to have four fixed female figures representing the four points of the compass holding the celestial sphere above their heads, but he was not satisfied with the fixed prototype. Therefore, in his next prototype, he changed the representative meaning of girls, with four girls representing Europe, Asia, Africa, and America respectively, and molded them into bodies that can twist and rotate, giving people a sense of movement. As for the rest, the sphere was completed by his student Eugene, Emmanuel Fr é miet completed the herd of horses in the base, and Louis Villeminot was responsible for the flower wreath shells and decorative aquatic plants in the pot.
In 1872, the director of the observatory proposed that the sphere marked by the Chinese zodiac around the Earth's equator should actually be on a ecliptic circle, and this project was revised.
In 1870, the work of the project was interrupted due to the Franco Prussian War and the uprising of the Paris Commune. After the failure of the Paris Commune, construction resumed in 1872, when the plaster model first appeared in a Paris salon. It was finally completed in 1874. At that time, Jean Baptiste Calpo's physical condition was already very poor. When the statue was placed on the fountain, he could only watch from a distance and did not personally place it. He passed away one year after the project was completed.

The earliest criticism received of the sculpture made by Jean Baptiste Calpo was expressed during the exhibition at the Paris salon, and even hostile opinions. Commentator Jules Clar é tie wrote, "These frivolous, unhealthy teenage girls, with their wasted wings, their elongated, tightly locked thighs, twisted in a strange circle, have no elegant style to speak of... Some may ask how bad a person with such poor spirit, poor eyes, and poor hands can create such a wild, vulgar, and wrinkled group of dancers."“
It is ridiculous that after the death of Jean Baptiste Calpo, Jules Clar é tie made a completely different comment, stating that the Fountain of Astronomy was Jean Baptiste Calpo's representative work.

Jean Baptiste Calpo (May 11, 1827 – October 12, 1875) was a famous French sculptor and painter during Napoleon III's Second Empire. He was born in Valenciennes, Nord, and his father was a stonemason, who had a profound influence on his future sculptures. In his early years, he followed French sculptor L ü de to study sculpture. In 1854, he received a scholarship to Rome and studied there until 1861, when he became more mature in studying Baroque style. In 1861, he made a half body statue of Princess Madeline, which was appreciated by Napoleon III and received several commissions to decorate the Paris Opera House. In 1869, he created a group portrait called "Dance" which was placed on the right side of the Opera House door and was criticized by many defenders.
His main works include Valenciennes defending the arts of peace with the arts of war, The Dance, Ugolino and His Sons, and Le Triomphe de Flore