Fontaine was a student of architecture under Charles Percier at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris beginning in 1816. He won the Second Grand Prix de Rome in 1822 and traveled throughout Italy from 1823 to 1825 studying the Classical and Renaissance monuments. Upon his return to France he made a career in the administration of the Palais-Royaux, serving as architect for the palaces of Saint-Germain and Saint-Cloud and the stables du Roule and those on the Rue Montaigne in Paris. Additionally, Fontaine designed private commissions, including buildings for the Ecorcheville family and for the chateaux at Hazeville and Théméricourt, and thermal bathhouses at Fontainebleau and Versailles.
These exquisite ink and graphite drawings with toned ink washes exemplifies the drawing skills emphasized in the École; first-year students were taught painting, sculpture and graphics in addition to architecture. While enrolled in the École the students drew from casts and reproductions of Classical works, then graduated to drawing directly from the major Greek and Roman monuments during their travels.
- "Temple de la Concorde a Agrigenti," c.1823 [Sicily]. Elevations and section of interior order under the portico.
- "Temple de la Concorde a Agrigenti," c.1823 [Sicily]. Front elevation.