Allegories of the Four Seasons (Fountain Figures)

In 1568, Emperor Maximilian II commissioned a silver fountain measuring more than three meters in height from the goldsmith Wenzel Jamnitzer. Both by its decorative program and by its ingenious engineering it was to glorify the House of Habsburg. However, the monument was not delivered until nine years later, to Maximilian’s son and heir, Rudolph II. In the 18th century the silver parts were melted down in order to finance the refurbishment of the Treasury, and only these four supporting bronze figures have survived.