Equestrian sculpture

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Marcus Aurelius on Capitoline Hill is the prototype of all modern equestrian sculptures, since it was displayed uninterruptly for eighteen ceturies

In sculpture, an equestrian (from the Latin "equus" meaning horse) is a statue consisting of a horse with mounted rider. Such statues were frequently (but not exclusively) made out of military leaders of note, and such statesmen who wished to symbolically emphasize an active and strong leadership role.

There is also a popular urban legend that the number of legs connected to the ground on some equestrian statues is correlated to the manner in which the rider died, but according to various historians, this is simply myth. ([1])

Equestrian sculptures

• Bronze equestrian of Marcus Aurelius, (second half of the 2nd century) 5 m. tall, located at the Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome. It is a remarkably well preserved bronze equestrian.
• The Bronze Horseman, as this awesome statue of Peter the Great on the Senate Square of St Petersburg is generally known, is the main work of Etienne Maurice Falconet (1716-91).
• Bronze equestrian of Nicholas I of Russia in front of St Isaac's Cathedral is the only equestrian statue in the world with merely two support points (the rear feet of the horse).
• Impressionist bronze equestrian of Alexander III of Russia by Paolo Troubetzkoy, formerly in front of the Moscow Railway Station, now in the courtyard of the Marble Palace in St Petersburg.
• Bronze equestrian of Marshal of Finland C.G.E. Mannerheim, located beside the main street Mannerheimintie in Helsinki in front of the Kiasma museum of modern art.
• Gold-plated equestrian of General George Clinton on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D. C.
• Equestrian of Wenceslaus, Duke of Bohemia on Wenceslas Square, Prague, Czech Republic.
• Equestrian of King George IV in Trafalgar Square, London, the United Kingdom
• Equestrian of Emperor Constantine in St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican City, Rome, Italy
• Equestrian of Godfrey of Bouillon on the Royal Square in Brussels, Belgium
• Equestrian of King Frederik V by Jacques-Francois-Joseph Saly in front of Amalienborg Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark
• Bronze equestrian Apotheosis of Saint Louis in front of the Saint Louis Art Museum.
• Equestrian of Stephen I by Alajos Stróbl in Budapest, Hungary.