Sculptpedia Statues, Busts and Sculptures Park sculptures and installations Ancient World & Antiquity Middle Ages & Renaissance Marble & Other Stones Bronze & Other Metals

Charlemagne and His Leudes

Charlemagne and His Leudes is a monumental sculptural group located on the parvis Notre-Dame, Place Jean-Paul-II, in Paris. Created by the French sculptor brothers Charles and Louis Rochet, with casting by Thiébaut Frères, it depicts Charlemagne on horseback accompanied by his leudes Roland and Olivier. The work was first shown at the 1878 Universal Exhibition, though it had earlier been presented in plaster in 1867. After a long and contested public history, it was installed near Notre-Dame and later acquired by the city of Paris. The statue survived the Second World War, reportedly because of Charlemagne’s importance in German history.

Charlemagne and His Leudes, a green-patinated equestrian monument with a crowned rider and two armored figures standing beside the pedestal.
Charlemagne and His Leudes in Paris, shown as a bronze equestrian monument with two smaller armored figures at its base.
© · CC BY-SA 4.0
Charlemagne and His Leudes equestrian statue on a tall stone pedestal in a park, with two standing figures beside the horse.
Charlemagne and His Leudes, a bronze monument mounted on a tall stone pedestal in a park setting.
February 2016 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Charlemagne and His Leudes equestrian monument on a tall pedestal in a Paris square, with figures and carts passing below.
Charlemagne and His Leudes stands in a Paris square as a procession passes in the foreground.
© Agence Rol. Agence photographique (commanditaire) · Public domain
Illuminated bronze monument of Charlemagne and His Leudes with a rider and two standing figures on a tall stone pedestal at night.
Charlemagne and His Leudes lit up against the night sky, with bare trees and city lights in the background.
January 2013 © · CC BY 2.0
Charlemagne and His Leudes monument seen through dense tree foliage, with a dark equestrian figure on a pedestal and smaller figures around the base.
Charlemagne and His Leudes, viewed through the branches of a large tree, with the equestrian monument rising from its pedestal.
© · CC BY-SA 2.0

Identification

TitleCharlemagne et ses Leudes
SubjectCharlemagne with his leudes Roland and Olivier
Alternative titleKarl der Große und seine Wachen; Charlemagne and His Guards; Charlemagne and His Paladins
TypeMonumental bronze equestrian statue group

Historical context

Date created1878
Original conception date1853
Initial intended locationAachen
First exhibitedExposition universelle of 1878
Earlier version exhibitedPlaster version at the Universal Exposition of 1867

Creator

FoundryThiébaut Frères
Creators' relationshipBrothers
Creator nationalityFrench
SculptorsCharles Rochet and Louis Rochet

Discovery and provenance

Purchase by the city of Paris1895
Purchase price30,000 francs

Location and ownership

Current locationParvis Notre-Dame – Place Jean-Paul-II, Paris, France
Initial installation siteForecourt of Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris
Provisional location statusOriginally installed provisionally on the forecourt of Notre-Dame Cathedral
OwnershipCity of Paris

Physical characteristics

BaseStone pedestal
Pedestal inscription"CHARLEMAGNE / ET / SES LEVDES" on one side of the pedestal, on the left side when viewed from the front
Weightapproximately 15 tons
Heightabout 7 meters

Materials

Main materialBronze
Pedestal materialStone
Earlier pedestal materialWooden base covered with tarred canvas

Technique

CastingCast by Thiébaut Frères

Appearance

Depicted figuresCharlemagne mounted on a horse, with Roland and Olivier standing beside the horse's neck and holding its bridle
Charlemagne depictionShown as an elderly man with a split beard, wearing an imperial crown and holding the scepter of Charles V
Roland depictionArmed and helmeted, wearing chain mail, looking to the right, with the sword Durendal, an olifant, and a labrys; the sword is modeled on the one kept at the Royal Armoury of Madrid
Olivier depictionArmed and helmeted, wearing chain mail, looking to the left, with a dagger, a lance, a Frankish scramasax, and a pike
Horse handlerOlivier

Iconography and meaning

Historical inconsistenciesThe Imperial Crown postdates Charlemagne by more than a century, the scepter dates from the 14th century, and the leudes are shown with clothing and hairstyles associated with Gauls or Merovingians rather than late-8th-century Franks
Iconographic noteThe monument contains anachronisms and is deliberately fictional and allegorical
National claimRoland and Olivier anchor Charlemagne in French tradition against competing Belgian and German claims
Political symbolismIt reflects Second French Empire ideology and claims Charlemagne's legacy for France and Napoleon III

History and restoration

World War II survivalThe statue was spared during the German occupation while many other bronze statues in France were melted down
Reason spared in World War IICharlemagne was regarded as important in German nationalist ideology and as a symbol of a Greater German Reich
Relocation proposalsIn 1973 Paris proposed replacing the statue with the Pillar of the Boatmen and offered it to Metz, but Metz declined the transport costs and the relocation did not happen
Proposed replacementThe Pillar of the Boatmen
Later base historyThe original wooden base burned in 1906; it was replaced by a new stone base in 1908
New base dimensions3 meters high and 7.30 meters wide
Pedestal designerEugène Viollet-le-Duc

Significance

Early receptionInitially little public interest, then heated debate over cost and symbolism followed by strong press and popular support