Fountain of the Centaurs
Fountain of the Centaurs is a fountain located on the grounds of the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City, Missouri, north of the Capitol building. Description The fountain consists of two separate components, the granite pool containing the bronze centaurs and other figures by Adolph Alexander Weinman and the Signing of the Louisiana Purchase Agreement, a large high relief by Karl Bitter. Both were dedicated in 1927. Although the mythical beings in the fountain are labeled as “centaurs” they are in fact “ichthyocentaurs". This is because the lower portion of their bodies are sea serpents rather than horses. Each of the centaurs is portrayed in a struggle with some sort of creature of the waters. They both are surrounded by playful sea urchins who spray water on them. Signing of the Treaty After being named director of sculpture for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904, Bitter contributed several pieces to the array of sculpture at the event. Since it was all made of staff and thus perusable and “swept into the dust bins of time,” only his relief showing the signing of the Louisiana Purchase by Robert R. Livingston, James Monroe and “the amiable” François Barbé-Marbois was saved. Following the