The Fountain Of The Institute - Paris - Watercolor Before 1811

Watercolor on paper - a shock in the upper left part - fold and tear in the upper right corner (see photo with arrows).
The Institute fountain was built in 1811 in front of the Institut de France.
An imperial decree of 1806, promulgated by Napoleon I, provided for the creation of fifteen fountains in Paris, including that of the Institute.
In accordance with Egyptian fashion, the architect Antoine Vaudoyer placed four bronze lionesses, replicas of those in the temple of Nectanebo I in Saqqara. We see in the background of the drawing the left wing of the institute (Le Vau architect).
--- It was dismantled in 1865. The academicians, disturbed by the loud voices of the water carriers, washerwomen (one can be seen in the foreground), under the windows, obtained that "the mouths of the lions be condemned to dry up.” Stored, the sculptures were purchased in 1950 by the town hall of Boulogne Billancourt, and are currently in the square of the Farman brothers.
This is a rare testimony to the original state of the fountain.