The

equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a d ...

Charles IV of Spain , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles III of Spain , mother =Maria Amalia of Saxony , birth_date =11 November 1748 , birth_place =Palace of Portici, Portici, Naples , death_date = , death_place = ...

(also known as ''El Caballito'') is a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

cast by

Manuel Tolsá Manuel Vicente Tolsá Sarrión (Enguera, Valencia (autonomous community), Valencia, Spain, May 4, 1757 – Mexico City, December 24, 1816) was a prolific Neoclassicism, Neoclassical architect and sculptor in Spain and Mexico. He served as the f ...

built between 1796 and 1803 in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in honour of King

, then the last ruler of the

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

(later

). This statue has been displayed in different points of the city and is considered one of the finest achievements of Mr. Tolsá. It now resides in Plaza Manuel Tolsá.

History

The project was initiated by Miguel de la Grúa Talamanca, Marquis of Branciforte, who was Viceroy of the New Spain. Once he obtained permission for the monument, he appointed people to perform the work and construction began. To that end, he emptied the main plaza (the Plaza de la Constitución, or “Zocalo”) and erected an elliptical railing with four access gates. The pedestal for the statue was inaugurated with large and well-attended parties and bullfights on 8 December 1796. A temporary statue, constructed out of wood and gilded stucco, was placed on top of the pedestal; it also represented the Spanish monarch. The Equestrian Statue of Charles IV was melted and cast in one operation under the supervision of Tolsá, who was director of the

Academy of San Carlos The Academy of San Carlos ( es, Academia de San Carlos) is located at 22 Academia Street in just northeast of the main plaza of Mexico City. It was the first major art academy and the first art museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1781 as th ...

. The statue required between 450 and 600 quintales of bronze (one quintal being equivalent to 46 kg), and was cast in the area near the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. The sculptor modeled the frame after a horse owned by the Marquis of Jaral of Berrio named ''Tambor'' (or "drum"). After being polished and engraved, the statue was taken to its pedestal and inaugurated on 9 December 1803. The celebrations and bullfights were repeated, with great jubilation. The Baron

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...

was present at the unveiling. In his opinion, and for this genre, the statue produced by Tolsá is second only to the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, in Rome. In 1821, due to anti-Hispanic sentiment manifesting during the Mexican independence, and due to a desire to replace the monument, the statue was covered in a blue tent. It was not long before people considered destroying the monument, to melt it down to reuse the bronze for guns or coins. Aggravating matters, underneath one of the hooves of the statue one will find the mark of an

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

quiver, perhaps a sign of allegiance to Spain. The statue was saved by

Lucas Alamán Lucas Ignacio Alamán y Escalada ( Guanajuato, New Spain, October 18, 1792 – Mexico City, Mexico, June 2, 1853) was a Mexican scientist, conservative statesman, historian, and writer. He came from an elite Guanajuato family and was well-tra ...

, who convinced

Guadalupe Victoria Guadalupe Victoria (; 29 September 178621 March 1843), born José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix, was a Mexican general and political leader who fought for independence against the Spanish Empire in the Mexican War of Independence. He ...

to retain the statue on the merit of its aesthetic qualities. This resulted in the statue being relocated in 1822 to the courtyard of the ancient university, to prevent people from destroying it. It wasn't until 1824 that the public was permitted to access the statue, but the statue was much safer in this location. In 1852, after years had passed and tempers had calmed, the statue was moved to the intersection Paseo de la Reforma and

Avenida Bucareli Avenida Bucareli, often referred to as "Bucareli Street", is a main avenue and ''eje vial'' (arterial road) in Mexico City. It divides the Historic center on the east from Colonia Juárez on the west. It is named after the viceroy of New Spai ...

, although this time it was protected from potential damage by a grille. In 1979 it was relocated to its current location, Plaza Manuel Tolsá, overlooking the

Palacio de Minería The Palace of Mining, also Palace of Mines, ( es, Palacio de Minería) is a building in Mexico City, Mexico, considered to be a fine example of Neoclassical architecture in the Americas. It was designed and built between 1797 and 1813 by Valencia ...

. Currently, in response to the earlier controversy surrounding the statue, the plaque on the pedestal indicates that Mexico conserved the statue as a monument to art, and not as a sign of praise to a Spanish king. A smaller, slightly different version of the sculpture can be seen in the Tolsá museum opposite the statue. The statue weighs 26 tonnes and is the second largest cast bronze statue in the world. The place the statue occupied between 1852 and 1979, the corner of

Paseo de la Reforma Paseo de la Reforma (translated as "Promenade of the Reform") is a wide avenue that runs diagonally across the heart of Mexico City. It was designed at the behest of Emperor Maximilian by Ferdinand von Rosenzweig during the era of the Secon ...

and Bucareli is now occupied by a statue called '' El caballito'' ("The Horse"), by sculptor Sebastián, erected in honour of the old monument. Image:Estatua equestre Carlos IV.jpg, Equestrian statue of Charles IV Image:MUNAL.jpg,

Museo Nacional de Arte The Museo Nacional de Arte (MUNAL) ( en, National Museum of Art) is the Mexico, Mexican national art museum, located in the Centro (Mexico City), historical center of Mexico City. The museum is housed in a neoclassical building at No. 8 Tacuba, C ...

MUNAL Image:Estatua ecuestre de Carlos IV.jpg, ''El Caballito'', seen from the side Image:Escultura Carlos IV + Palacio de Minería.jpg, ''El caballito'' in the

evening Evening is the period of a day that starts at the end of the afternoon and overlaps with the beginning of night. The exact times when evening begins and ends depend on location, time of year, and culture, but it is generally regarded as beginn ...

. Image:Flying saucer Mexico DF 1948.jpg, ''El Caballito'' and a "flying saucer" in 1948. Image:Restauración de la Estatua Ecuestre de Carlos IV -i---i- (34786535603).jpg, The 2017 Equestrian statue of Charles IV of Spain restoration inauguration day

References

External links

Its various locations in Mexico City
{{Public art in Mexico City 1803 in New Spain 1803 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Mexico Buildings and structures in Mexico City Charles IV of Spain Equestrian statues in Mexico Monuments and memorials in Mexico City Outdoor sculptures in Mexico City Relocated buildings and structures Sculptures of men in Mexico Charles IV Statues in Mexico City

History

See also

References

External links