Grotesque heads or mascarons from Pont-Neuf, small arm, upstream side

Anonyme

    • Between 1590 and 1606
    • Sculpture
    • Limestone
    • 1st arch on the right bank
    • S3054

Pont Neuf is actually the oldest bridge in Paris. Built downstream from Ile de la Cité, it was designed to supplement the Pont Notre-Dame and Pont au Change bridges, which had been damaged by flooding and the breaking up of ice on the Seine. Henry III laid the foundation stone in 1578. Work was interrupted by the Wars of Religion and was restarted in 1592 on the order of Henry IV, who inaugurated it in 1607. The final structure featured an architectural design that was much simpler than the project initially planned. The bridge was one of the first urban development projects carried out in Paris.

In the beginning, it was decorated with 381 different mascarons featuring the heads of divinities from Classical mythology, as well as satyrs. In Antiquity, mascarons had played the role of protecting homes and neighborhoods from evil spirits.