Equestrian Sculpture
 An equestrian sculpture (from the Latin "equus" meaning horse) is a statue of a mounted rider.
History
Ancient Rome
Such statues frequently commemorated military leaders, and those statesmen who wished to symbolically emphasize the active leadership role undertaken since Roman times by the equestrian class, the equites or knights.
There were numerous bronze equestrian portraits (particularly of the emperors) in ancient Rome, but they did not survive because it was standard practice to melt down bronze statues for reuse of the precious alloy as coin or other, smaller projects such as new sculptures for Christian churches). The sole surviving Roman equestrian bronze, of Marcus Aurelius (illustration, right), owes its preservation on the Campidoglio, Rome, to the popular mis-identification of Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher-emperor, with Constantine the Great, the Christian emperor.
Renaissance
After the Romans, no equestrian bronze was cast in Europe until Donatello achieved the heroic bronze equestrian statue of the condottiere Gattamelata, in Padua, executed in 1445–1450.
Giambologna's equestrian bronze of Ferdinand de' Medici for the Piazza della SS. Annunziata was completed by his assistant, Pietro Tacca, in 1608. Tacca's last public commission was the colossal equestian bronze of Philip IV, begun in 1634 and shipped to Madrid in 1640. In Tacca's sculpture, atop a complicated fountain composition that forms the centerpiece of the façade of the Royal Palace, the horse rears, and the entire weight of the sculpture balances on the two rear legs—and, discreetly, its tail—a feat that had never been attempted in a figure on a heroic scale, one of which Leonardo had dreamed.
America
In the United States, the first two full-scale equestrian sculptures were Clark Mills Andrew Jackson (1852) and Henry Kirke Brown's George Washington (1856) for Union Square, New York. Mills was the first American sculptor to overcome the challenge of casting a rider on a rearing horse. The resulting sculpture was so popular he repeated it, for Washington, D.C., New Orleans and Nashville, Tennessee. Cyrus Edwin Dallin made a specialty of equestrian sculptures of American Indians: his Appeal to the Great Spirit stands before the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
20th century
After World War I few equestrian monuments were created in the age of the automobile. An exception is the muscular bronze Theodore Roosevelt by James Earle Fraser, centered on the Roosevelt Memorial at the American Museum of Natural History.
As the twentieth Century progressed the popularity of the equestrian monument declined. This was in part due to the decline of the Beaux-Arts style, the chosen one for many of these monuments, but is was also due to the almost complete cessation of the use of the horse as a work animal. From time immemorial leaders, both political and military ,rode horses as a matter of course and thus portraying them on horseback was a logical step. The late 1970s and early 1980s witnessed a revival in equestrian monuments, largely in the Southwest part of the United States. There, art centers such as in Loveland, Colorado, Shadoni Foundry in New Mexico and various studios in Texas began once again producing equestrian sculpture. These revival works fall into two general categories, the memorialization of a particular individual or the portrayal of more mundane subjects, notably the American cowboy. Such monuments are liberally scattered across a wide area of the Southwest.
Trivia
The 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, is only circumstantially true (). Authentic iconography is less simplistic.The 19th-century conventions of public sculpture in Germany, reserved equestrian sculpture to monuments of ruling monarchs. German generals and field marshalls as well as politicians usually stand. Scientists and artists are usually shown as a sitting sculpture.
Equestrian sculptures
Argentina
- Equestrian sculpture of José de San Martín in Rio Cuarto
Armenia
- Modern equestrian sculptures of David of Sassoun, Hovhannes Baghramian, Gayk Bzhishkyan, Andranik Ozanian and Vartan Mamikonian in Yerevan
Austria
- Archduke Charles of Austria and Prince Eugene of Savoy, Heldenplatz, Vienna, both by Anton Dominik Fernkorn; the equestrian sculpture of Archduke Charles is in so far a miracle which stands for Fernkorn's craftmanship as a sculptor, as only the two back legs of the horse have a connection with the pedestal, outdoing the achievement of Tacca's equestrian sculpture of Philip IV in Madrid.
Belgium
- Equestrian monument of Godfrey of Bouillon,Royal Square, Brussels, Belgium
Chile
- Equestrian of José de San Martín in Santiago de Chile
Croatia
- Equestrian of Ban Josip Jelačić in Zagreb
Czech Republic
- Equestrian monument of Wenceslaus, Duke of Bohemia by Josef Václav Myslbek on Wenceslas Square, Prague, Czech Republic
- Equestrian monument of Jan Žižka by Bohumil Kafka in Žižkov, Prague, Czech Republic
Denmark
- Equestrian monument of King Christian V by French sculptor Abraham-César Lamoureux (1635-1692) on Kongens Nytorv (The King's New Square), Copenhagen. Originally in lead 1688, replaced in 1945 by a bronze copy.
- Equestrian monument of King Frederik V in bronze by Jacques-Francois-Joseph Saly in front of Amalienborg Palace, Copenhagen, erected 1771.
- Equestrian monument of King Frederik VII in bronze by H. Bissen on Christiansborg Palace Sqaure, Copenhagen, erected 1873.
- Equestrian monument of King Christian IX in bronze by L. Brandstrup in Esjerg erected 1899.
- Equestrian monument of Bishop Absalon in bronze by Vilhelm Bissen on Højbro Plads, Copenhagen, erected 1902.
- Equestrian monument of King Christian IX in bronze by L. Brandstrup in Slagelse erected 1910.
- Equestrian monument of King Christian IX in bronze by C. Bonnesen in Aalborg erected 1910.
- Equestrian monument of King Christian IX in bronze by Aksel Hansen in Odense erected 1912.
- Equestrian monument of King Christian IX in bronze by Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen in Copenhagen erected 1927.
- Equestrian monument of King Christian X in bronze by V. Kvederis in Nakskov erected in 1952
- Equestrian monument of King Christian X in bronze by E. Utzon-Frank on St. Annæ Square, Copenhagen, erected in 1954.
- Equestrian monument of King Christian X in bronze by Helen Schou on Bispetorv (Bishop's Square), Aarhus, erected in 1955.
Finland
- Bronze equestrian monument 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
France
- Jeanne d'Arc in Paris by Emmanuel Frémiet
Georgia
- Modern equestrian monuments of King David the Builder in Kutaisi and Tbilisi; General Giorgi Saakadze in Kaspi and Tbilisi; Prince Tsotne Dadiani in Poti, King Vakhtang Gorgasali in Tbilisi; King Erekle II in Telavi.
Germany
Bamberg
- The Bamberg Horseman, Cathedral, c. 1225-37
Berlin
- Equestrian monument of Friedrich the Great, Unter den Linden by Christian Daniel Rauch
Braunschweig
- Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg, design by Franz Pönninger, Vienna, foundry Georg Ferdinand Howaldt, Braunschweig
- Duke Friedrich Wilhelm (Brunswick and Lüneburg), design by Ernst Hähnel, Dresden, foundry Georg Ferdinand Howaldt, Braunschweig
Bremen
- Kaiser Friedrich III of Germany (Hohenzollern), design Louis Tuaillon
Cologne
- King Frederick William IV of Prussia, Rhine bridge, by Gustav Blaeser
Hanover
- King Ernest Augustus I of Hanover, Central station, design by Albert Wolff
Koblenz
- The equestrian sculptural monument of Kaiser Wilhelm I, Deutsches Eck, by Emil Hundrieser, is the tallest of the Kaiser Wilhelm equestrian monuments, the sculpture itself is 14 meters high.
Lübeck
- Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany, design Louis Tuaillon
Magdeburg
- The first equestrian sculpture north of the alps is the Magdeburger Reiter ("Magdeburg equestrian"), ca. 1240 in Magdeburg, probably showing Kaiser Otto I.
Merseburg
- King Frederick William III of Prussia, design Louis Tuaillon
Weimar
- Carl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach by Adolf von Donndorf
Greece
- Equestrian statue of Alexander the Great , in Thessaloniki. Bucephalos is standing on two legs !
Hungary
- Equestrian of Stephen I by Alajos Stróbl in Budapest, Hungary
Italy
- 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
- Equestrian of Emperor Constantine in St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican City, Rome, Italy
- Donatello's Gattamelata in Padua
- Giambolognas and Pietro Taccas equestrian of Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany in Florence
Kyrgyzstan
- Equestrian statue of Mikhail Frunze at a large park across from the train station
Mexico
- Equestrian of Charles IV of Spain, downtown Mexico City, by Tolsá
Poland
- Equestrian of Prince Jozef Poniatowski at the Presidential Palace, Warsaw by Bertel Thorvaldse
Russia
Moscow
- Equestrian statues of Yury Dolgoruky on Tverskaya Street in Moscow and Georgy Zhukov on Manege Square in the same city.
St Petersburg
- 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 was the first 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.
Toliatti
- Monument to Vasily Tatischev in Toliatti
Spain
- Equestrian of Philip IV in Madrid, by Pietro Tacca. Begun in 1634. The daring stability of the statue was calculated by Galileo Galilei. The horse rears, and the entire weight of the sculpture balances on the two rear legs and tail.
- Equestrian of Baldomero Espartero, Prince of Vergara in Madrid. Probably the best known equestrian sculpture in Spain.
- Equestrian of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, part of the Monument to Cervantes in Madrid.
- Equestrian of Francisco Pizarro at the Major Square of Trujillo, where he was born.
- Equestrian of Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, (Gran Capitán), in Córdoba, by Mateo Inurria. The head is a portrait of El Lagartijo, a famous bullfighter.
- Equestrian of Alfonso XII, at the Retiro Park, monument by Grases Riera.
Sweden
- Equestrian of Charles XIV John (Karl XIV Johan) by Bengt Erland Fogelberg located at Slussplan on Gamla Stan, Stockholm, Sweden
- Equestrian of Charles X Gustav, standing at Stortorget, Malmö, Sweden
Turkey
- Equestrian of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk by Pietro Canonica located in Samsun, Turkey, 1931.
United Kingdom
- Equestrian of King George IV in Trafalgar Square, London
- Lobey Dosser with Rank Bajin on El Fidelio, Woodlands Road, Glasgow. This monument to Bud Neill is claimed to be the only two-legged equestrian statue in the world. For further images see Commons:Category:Lobey Dosser.
- Equestrain of the Emperor Nerva on Southgate St, Gloucester. A replica of a roman statue found in the ramains of the South Gate.
United States
Baltimore, Maryland
- John Eager Howard Monument, Washington Place, by Emmanuel Frémiet, 1904
- Marquis de La Fayette Monument, Washington Place, by Andrew O'Connor, 1924
Boston, Massachusetts
- George Washington, by Thomas Ball, 1869
- Shaw Memorial by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 1897
- General Joseph Hooker by Daniel Chester French and Edward Clark Potter, 1903
- Appeal to the Great Spirit by Cyrus Dallin, 1904
- Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, 1940
Charlottesville, Virginia
- George Rogers Clark, by Robert Aitken, 1921
- Stonewall Jackson by Charles Keck, 1921
- Robert E. Lee, by Henry Shrady, finished by Leo Lentilli, 1924
Chicago, Illinois
- General Ulysses S. Grant by Louis T. Rebisso, 1891
- A Signal of Peace by Cyrus Dallin, 1894
- General John Logan by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Alexander Phimister Proctor, 1897
- Thaddeus Kosciuszko by Kasmir Chodzinski, 1904
- George Washington Memorial, by Daniel Chester French and Edward Clark Potter, 1904
- General Philip Sheridan by Gutzon Borglum, 1923
- Indians, two statues by Ivan Meštrović, 1928
- Thomas Masaryk Memorial by Albin Polasek, 1941
Colorado Springs, Colorado
- William Jackson Palmer by Nathan Potter, 1929
Denver, Colorado
- On the War Path by Alexander Phimister Proctor, 1923
- Buckaroo by Alexander Phimister Proctor, 1920
- Pioneer Monument, topped by an equestrian Kit Carson by Frederick MacMonnies,
Hoboken, New Jersey
- The Torch Bearers by Anna Hyatt Huntington, 1955
McPherson, Kansas
- Bronze equestrian of Civil War General James B. McPherson in the courtyard of the McPherson County Courthouse, 1917.
Madison, New Jersey
- Francis Asbury by Augustus Lukeman, 1926
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- General Thaddeus Kosciuszko, Kosciuszko Park, by Gaetano Trentanove, 1906
- Erastus B. Wolcott, Lake Park, by Francis Herman Packer, 1920
- Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben West Lisbon Avenue, by J. Otto Schweizer, 1921
Morristown, New Jersey
- George Washington by F.G.R. Roth, 1928
Newark, New Jersey
- George Washington by J. Massey Rhind
- Bartolommeo Colleoni by J.Massey Rhind - a 1916 copy of Andrea del Verrocchio's statue
New York City
- George Washington, by Henry Kirke Brown and John Quincy Adams Ward. 1856
- Abraham Lincoln, from the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arch, Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, by Thomas Eakins and Willaim R. O'Donovan, 1892
- Ulysses S. Grant, from the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arch, Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, by Thomas Eakins and Willaim R. O'Donovan, 1892
- The Horse Tamers, Park Circle, Brooklyn, by Frederick MacMonnies, 1899
- Gilded statue of General William Tecumseh Sherman, Central Park, 59th Street and Fifth Avenue by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 1903
- General Henry Warner Slocum, Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, by Frederick MacMonnies, 1905
- Washington at Valley Forge by Henry Shrady, 1906
- Franz Sigel by Karl Bitter, 1907
- Joan of Arc, Riverside Park at 93rd Street by Anna Hyatt Huntington, 1915
- Simón Bolívar, by Sally James Farnham Central Park South at Avenue of the Americas. 1921
- El Cid, courtyard of the Hispanic Society of America by Anna Hyatt Huntington, 1927
- King Jagiello, Central Park, by Stanislaw Kazimierz Ostowski, pre 1939
- Roosevelt Memorial, in front of the American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West by James Earle Fraser, 1940
- Peace, the United Nations Gardens by Antun Augustinčić, 1954
- José Martí, Central Park, by Anna Hyatt Huntington, 1965
Palmyra, Tennessee
- Andrew Jackson, by Enoch Tanner Wickham, 1961
- Dr. John W. Wickham, by Enoch Tanner Wickham, 1959
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- General George Gordon Meade by Alexander Milne Calder, 1887
- Joan of Arc by Emmanuel Frémiet, 1890
- General George B. McClellan by Henry Jackson Ellicott, 1894
- Washington Monument by Rudolph Siemering, 1897
- General John Fulton Reynolds by John Rogers, 1884
- General Ulysses S. Grant by Daniel Chester French and Edward Clark Potter, 1897
- The Medicine Man, by Cyrus Dallin, 1899
- Cowboy by Frederick Remington, 1908
- General Winfield Scott Hancock by John Quincy Adams Ward, 1910
- General George B. McClellan by Edward Clark Potter, 1912
- General Anthony Wayne by John Gregory, 1937
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- George Washington, West Park, by R.I. Pausch, 1891
Richmond, Virginia
- Washington Memorial, Thomas Crawford, 1857
The following statues are located on Monument Avenue.
- Robert E. Lee by Antonin Mercié, 1890
- JEB Stuart by Frederick Moynihan, 1907
- Stonewall Jackson by Frederick William Sievers, 1919
St. Louis, Missouri
- Bronze equestrian Apotheosis of Saint Louis in front of the Saint Louis Art Museum by Charles Niehaus
San Diego, California
- El Cid, Balboa Park by Anna Hyatt Huntington
San Francisco, California
- Simón Bolívar in U.N. Plaza
Washington D.C.
- Bronze equestrian of South American liberator Simón Bolívar, by Felix George Weichs de Weldon. On 18th St. at C St. and Virginia Ave. NW. At 27 feet tall it is possibly tallest equestrian statue in U.S., 1959.
- Gold-plated equestrian of General George Clinton on Connecticut Avenue
- Bronze equestrian of Civil War General James B. McPherson in McPherson Square, 1876.
Uzbekistan
- Equestrian of Timur Lenk, located in Amir Timur Square at the end of the pedestrian street, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Ukraine
- Modern equestrian of King Danylo of Rus in Lviv
Song
"Equestrian Statue" is the title of a 1967 song by The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, in which a town square is enlivened by the presence of a rather lively equestrian statue of a former dignitary.
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