Equestrian Statue of Louis XIV
The equestrian statue of Louis XIV is a monument created by the French sculptors Pierre Cartellier and Louis Petitot. It depicts the French king Louis XIV and stands in front of the Palace of Versailles in Versailles. Cast in bronze, the statue is about 5.5 metres high and 4.5 metres long, and it rests on a 4.0-metre stone pedestal. Louis XIV is shown seated on horseback with a fringed saddlecloth, holding a marshal’s baton in a commanding gesture while the other hand holds the reins. He wears elegant clothing, a neckcloth, a sash, a hat with ostrich feathers, and boots with spurs. Similar equestrian statues of Louis XIV are also found in Lyon, Paris, and Montpellier.
July 2014 © Anitsircana · CC BY-SA 4.0
© Jorge Láscar · CC BY 2.0
June 2000 © Gary Todd · CC0
© Uwe Gerig · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
May 2018 © Aymeric-pinel.1985 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Identification | |
| Title | Equestrian statue of Louis XIV |
| Subject | Louis XIV, King of France |
| Type | Equestrian statue |
Creator | |
| Designer | Pierre Cartellier |
| Rider sculptor | Louis Petitot, Cartellier's son-in-law |
| Casting artist | Charles Crozatier |
Historical context | |
| Horse completed at Cartellier's death | Only the horse was finished when Pierre Cartellier died in 1831 |
| Casting date | 1838 |
| Horse design origin | Originally intended for an equestrian statue of Louis XV commissioned in 1816 by Louis XVIII for the Place de la Concorde in Paris, but never executed |
| Commissioned for | Place de la Concorde, Paris |
| Commissioned | 1816 |
Physical characteristics | |
| Height | Approximately 5.5 meters |
| Length | 4.5 meters |
| Pedestal | Stone pedestal, 4.0 meters high |
| Horse and king proportions | The proportions of the horse and the king figures are slightly different |
Materials | |
| Material | Bronze |
Appearance | |
| Boots | Boots with wide tops and spurs, placed in stirrups |
| Stylistic comparison | The costume is similar to that shown by René-Antoine Houasse in his painting Equestrian Portrait of Louis XIV |
| Saddle cloth | Saddle cloth with fringe |
| Weapon | Carries a sword at the belt |
| Gesture | Extends a marshal's baton in the right hand to the side |
| Clothing | Elegant clothing with a neckcloth, a sash around the waist, and a hat with ostrich feathers |
| Left hand | Holds the reins |
| Horse pose | Right front leg strongly raised; left hind leg slightly raised |
| Depiction | Louis XIV seated on horseback |
Location and ownership | |
| Current location | Place d'Armes, in front of the Palace of Versailles, Versailles |
| Former location | Cour d'honneur of the Palace of Versailles |
| Former location period | Until 2008–2009 |
| Original installation place | Cour d'honneur of the Palace of Versailles |
History and restoration | |
| Dismantled date | February 2006 |
| Reason for dismantling | To allow reconstruction of the royal gate of the courtyard |
| Restoration workshop | Fonderie de Coubertin |
| Restoration cost | 500,000 euros |
| Reassembled date | 21 April 2009 |
| Reason for new location | It allowed the statue to be better visible from the Avenue de Paris |
Significance | |
| Other equestrian statues of Louis XIV | Place des Victoires in Paris; Place Bellecour in Lyon; Promenade du Peyrou in Montpellier |
| Other Versailles statue | Another equestrian statue in Versailles, made of marble, commissioned by Louis XIV in 1671 from Gian Lorenzo Bernini; it was later placed behind the gardens of Versailles after Louis XIV lost interest in it |