Directly in the courtyard of the Louvre is the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel that was commissioned by Napoleon to commemorate his military victories (along with the “other” Arc de Triomphe on the Champs Elysées).
Initially, on top of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel were placed the Horses of Saint Mark. They had adorned the Basilica of San Marco in Venice since the sack of Constantinople in 1204 and had been brought to Paris where they were placed atop Napoleon’s Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel.
After Napoleon Bonaparte’s defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, many of the countries he had previously conquered asked for their artwork back. The Horses of Saint Mark were returned to Italy and today there is a copy on top instead.
After the destruction of the Tuileries Palace, the Arc du Carrousel has become the oldest monument aligned with the Historical Axis (besides the ancient obelisk on place de la Concorde).
This is a triumphal arch built by Napoleon from 1807 to 1808 to celebrate the victory of the French imperial army in Austerlitz.
HD photos of the Horses of Saint Mark statues on the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in Paris - Page 207
While we were visiting the Tuileries gardens in the 1st Arrondissement of Paris, we took these high definition photographs showing the bronze quadriga statues by Baron Francois Joseph Bosio that are found on top of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel.
This first close up photo shows the quadriga that are on top of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, which are often referred to as the Horses of Saint Mark, or Horses of San Marco, and this bronze statue group you can see in these images are a copy of the originals, which were produced by the artist Baron Francois Joseph Bosio in 1828 commemorating the Restoration.
Now, it was Napoleon Bonaparte that commissioned the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel to be constructed, and the original chariot with the four horses was actually taken from the Saint Mark Cathedral in Venice in one of his battles, but these were returned when the Empire fell in 1815, so the quadriga you can see today are copies of those Horses of Saint Mark, with the addition of the two allegorical gilded statues each side.
This is a photo we took showing the back of the statue group, or quadriga as it is known, and in this view you can only see two horses, yet it provides a good view of the chariot and the golden allegorical statues with their wings standing each side of the four horses, and these additional golden allegories were sculpted to represent Peace and Victory.
With this photo you can see a front view of the whole Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel with the Horses of Saint Mark on top, and this is located between the Louvre Museum and the Tuileries Gardens in the 1st Arrondissement of Paris, and this triumphal arch with its statues are on the historical axis with Place de la Concorde and the Champs Elysees, which is the way we were looking when we took this photo.
We took this particular photo while standing way back in the Louvre museum main courtyard, to try and give more of a level view of this statue group on top of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, and in fact, the bronze allegorical statue standing inside the chariot you can see today should have originally been a statue of Napoleon I, which was before his fall from power.
The Triumphal Quadriga is the group of bronze four horses at St. Mark's Basilica. They were originally outside on the façade, but they have been replaced with replicas and moved inside for protection. It is unclear when they were made, but it seems that they were brought to Constantinople and placed on the starting gates at the Hippodrome. It is possible that they originally had a chariot with a driver as part of the sculpture. However everything before its relocation to Venice is uncertain. It is clear that the Venetians brought the horses and later placed them on San Marco's façade after the Crusaders sacked Constantinople in 1204. While most of the bronze sculptures in Constantinople were melted down by the Crusaders, this piece is fortunately one of the few to survive. When Napoleon captured Venice, he brought them to Paris and placed it on the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, which is now topped with another quadriga. The Triumphal Quadriga have influenced many other quadriga as well.
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Copy of the Horses on the Façade of San Marco
Copy of the Horses on Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in Paris commissioned in 1806
The great circle alignment from Giza to Alexandria has an azimuth of 51.85° north of due west from Giza (the same angle as the slope of the Great Pyramid). Extended beyond Alexandria, this great circle also crosses over Delphi, Rollright and Newgrange, as well as the city of London.
Dendera was dedicated to Isis/Sirius. The ancient Egyptian year began on the date of the heliacal rising of Sirius in mid July. The helical rising of Sirius heralded the annual inundation of the Nile that was essential to the welfare of ancient Egypt. The axis of the temple of Isis at Dendera was aligned 20° south of due east, pointing directly at the rising point of Sirius from the latitude of Dendera.
Robert Bauval describes a number of connections between Isis/Sirius and Paris in Talisman (2004). Isis is shown riding on a boat in many ancient Egyptian drawings and carvings. At the direction of Napoleon, Sirius and a statue of Isis were added to the coat of arms for Paris shown below.
During the French revolution, a statue of Isis known as the Fountain of Regeneration was constructed on the former site of the Bastille. The engraving below commemorated this statue.
The Elysian Fields is described as a place of eternal salvation in the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead. Named after the Elysian Fields, the Champs Elysees is the main axis of Paris. The names Elysian and Elysees both suggest an association with Isis. The photograph below is facing southeast. The Arc de Triumphe is visible in the background. Beyond the Arc de Triumphe is the Louvre. The azimuth of the Champs Elysees is 26° south of due east, pointing directly at the rising point of Sirius/Isis from the latitude of Paris.
The termination point of the Champs Elysees to the northwest is the Grande Arche, in the foreground of the picture above. The axis of the Grande Arche is offset 6.33° south of the axis of the Champs Elysees. With an azimuth of just over 32° south of due east, the azimuth of the axis of the Grande Arche is the same as the azimuth of the great circle alignment from Paris to Dendera.
The Grande Arche is a nearly perfect cube with a height of 110 meters, a width of 108 meters and a depth of 112 meters. It is often described as a cube with side lengths of 110 meters. This is equal to 210 ancient Egyptian cubits:
110/210 = .5238
.5238 meters is a precise measure of the ancient Egyptian cubit, equating to 20.6222 inches, well within the ± .005 inches in Petrie's 20.62 inch measure of the ancient Egyptian cubit. Instead of the usual comparisons between the cubit and the meter of .52375/1 or .524/1, the best comparative measure may be the simple fraction of 11/21 that is suggested by the Grande Arche.
The sides of the Grande Arche are divided into 5 x 5 large panels and within each large panel are 7 x 7 smaller panels. Side lengths of 110 meters suggest lengths of 22 meters for the sides of the large panels with lengths of 22/7 meters for the sides of the smaller panels. The fraction 22/7 equals 3.1428, an accurate expression of π that is also found in the dimensions of the Great Pyramid. Side lengths of 210 cubits in the Grande Arche suggest lengths of 42 cubits for the sides of the large panels and 6 cubits for the sides of the smaller panels. This also shows that the relationship between the meter and the cubit is 6/π, using the measure of 22/7 for π:
21/11 = 6/π
22/7 x 21/11 = 6
The northern pyramid at Dashur, known as the Red Pyramid, was the first true (smooth sided) pyramid built in Egypt and it was the last pyramid built prior to construction of the Great Pyramid. The baselengths of the Red Pyramid are 420 cubits (220 meters) long, 20x multiples of 21/11.
One of the oldest stone circles in England is at Rollright. The diameter of the Rollright circle is 31.4 meters, an accurate expression of π times 10 meters. Given the 6/π relationship between the meter and the cubit, the diameter of the Rollright circle is also 60 ancient Egyptian cubits.
Ayer ya hicimos una breve incursión sobre el Arco del Triunfo del Carrousel. Dejamos en un punto y aparte una explicación más profunda del monumento que lo corona. Allí vemos un carro tirado por cuatro caballos que es escoltado por las alegorías de la Victoria y de la Paz. Pero este monumento no fue siempre el que estuvo allí mirando al frente del Museo del Louvre. Para entender su historia quizá antes tengamos que dar una vuelta por Venecia.
Los cuatro caballos originales de la cuadriga de bronce fueron parte del botín de guerra de Napoleón, y se encontraban en la plaza de la Basílicade San Marco de Venecia. Estos caballos venecianos eran, a su vez, copias de originales griegos de bronce dorado del siglo IV a. C. que venían del Templo del Sol de Corintia.
La cuádriga del Carrousel vista de espalda.
Estas esculturas originales datan de finales de la Antigüedad Clásica y han sido atribuidas al escultor griego Lisipo del siglo IV a.C. Aunque siempre se creía que eran de bronce, los análisis sugieren que están hechas de cobre. Al parecer este material fue escogido para obtener un más satisfactorio dorado. Dados los actuales conocimientos de la tecnología antigua, este método de fabricación sugiere que las piezas son de factura romana en vez de helénico.
Los caballos junto a su cuadriga fueron expuestos en el Hipódromo de Constantinopla durante siglos. En 1204, fueron tomados por las fuerzas venecianas durante el saqueo de la capital bizantina en la Cuarta Cruzada. Lo que ocurrió con el auriga después de la Cuarta Cruzada es desconocido. El Dogo de Venecia Enrico Dandolo envió los caballos a Venecia, donde se instalaron en la terraza de la fachada de la Basílica de San Marcos en 1254.
En 1797, Napoleón tomó los caballos por la fuerza y los llevó a París, donde fueron usados en el diseño del Arco de Triunfo del Carrousel, en ese caso junto a un cuadriga.
En 1815 los caballos fueron devueltos a la Basílica tras la derrota francesa. Permanecieron en la terraza hasta comienzos de la década de 1980, cuando, para evitar daños por la polución del aire y el efecto del excremento de las aves, fueron substituidas por réplicas. Desde entonces, la cuadriga original está expuesta en un Museo dentro de la Basílica.
Los caballos en el Museo de San Marco.
El carro parisino es escoltado por las alegorías de la Victoria y de la Paz, en oro. Se cree comúnmente que la persona que conduce el carro es el emperador en persona. Sin embargo, no es el caso.
En su momento se fabricó una estatua de bronce de «Napoleón triunfador conduciendo el carro de la victoria«, y se la colocó en su lugar correspondiente. Pero el emperador rehusó al final a ver su esfinge en la cumbre de este arco dedicado a la gran armada. Se quitó la estatua en 1812 y el carro se quedó vacío hasta 1828.
La estatua de Napoleón es de bronce dorado y es obra de François Frédéric Lemot. Se encuentra actualmente en el Museo del Louvre, a escasos cincuenta metros de su destino original.
En 1815 los aliados contra Francia ocupan la capital gala y devuelven los caballos a Venecia.
En la galería sobre la portada de la basílica de San Marcos en Venecia hay cuatro grandes esculturas de equinos conocidas popularmente como los Caballos de San Marcos. Estas esculturas son más antiguas que la propia basílica, pues proceden del hipódromo de Constantinopla.
Formaban parte de un monumento escultórico que representaba una cuadriga completa, similar a las que adornaban otros edificios antiguos como por ejemplo el Mausoleo de Halicarnaso. No se sabe exactamente dónde estaba situada esta cuadriga originalmente, pero se cree que debió coronar un arco de triunfo u otro edificio público.
Tampoco hay consenso en la fecha de su creación. Algunos expertos opinan que pueden ser obra de un escultor griego del siglo IV a.C. No obstante, otros tienden a datarlos entre los siglos I y III d.C.
En el Parastaseis syntomoi chronikai, un texto bizantino de finales del siglo VIII a principios del IX d.C. que comenta los monumentos existentes en Constantinopla en esa época, se habla de cuatro caballos dorados que presiden el hipódromo y se añade que vinieron de la isla de Quios en tiempos de Teodosio II.
Según algunas hipótesis podrían proceder de los arcos de triunfo de Nerón o Trajano en Roma, o incluso del mausoleo de Adriano. Las obras de restauración llevadas a cabo entre 1977 y 1981 no revelaron ningún elemento que pueda conducir a una datación precisa.
Lo que sí se sabe es que durante siglos estuvieron en el hipódromo de la capital bizantina, donde los encontraron los cruzados en el año 1204 cuando asaltaron Constantinopla durante la Cuarta Cruzada. El principal contingente cruzado eran 10.000 soldados venecianos bajo el mando del dux Enrico Dandolo, y entre el botín enviado a Venecia se encontraban los caballos.
Para poder transportarlos con facilidad en las galeras venecianas tuvieron que cortar las estatuas a la altura del cuello, por lo que, una vez llegados a Venecia se volvieron a unir añadiendo un collar a cada uno, a modo de banda decorativa, para ocultar los cortes.
Las esculturas están hechas con un bronce cuyo contenido en estaño es muy bajo. Normalmente el bronce antiguo suele tener un 85 por ciento de cobre, un 10 por ciento de estaño y una pequeña cantidad de plomo e impurezas. Los caballos tienen casi un 98 por ciento de cobre, y solo un 1 por ciento de estaño y otro 1 por ciento de plomo, una técnica especialmente extendida durante el Imperio Romano.
Las esculturas originales, hoy expuestas en el museo de la catedral de San Marcos | foto Tteske en Wikimedia Commons
Tienen 2,33 metros de altura por 2,53 metros de largo y pesan 900 kilogramos cada una. La superficie de los caballos se doró con mercurio y luego se rayó en estrías paralelas de anchura constante con un cincel, para matizar el efecto dorado al reflejar el sol. En los cascos y cabestros hay grabados números romanos cuya función se desconoce.
Unos 50 años después de ser enviados a Venecia por Dandolo (que murió en 1205 y está enterrado en el interior de la basílica de Santa Sofía de Constantinopla, hoy Estambul) los caballos se instalaron sobre la galería de la basílica de San Marcos.
Pero no terminaría ahí su historia. Cinco siglos más tarde, en 1797 Napoleón derrotó a la República de Venecia y los franceses se llevaron de ella todo lo que pudieron: obras de arte, joyas, armaduras…
El tesoro veneciano fue fundido, así como el de San Marcos, el Bucintoro fue desmantelado para extraer el oro de las decoraciones, y unas 30.000 obras de arte de todas las épocas se vendieron o desaparecieron. Entre las obras que se enviaron a Francia estaban el león de San Marcos y los cuatro caballos dorados.
Napoleón mandó primero colocarlos en los Inválidos, luego en las puertas de las Tullerías y más tarde, en 1806, ordenó la construcción del Arco de Triunfo del Carrusel para conmemorar sus victorias, y que estuviera coronado por una cuadriga de bronce tirada por los cuatro caballos de San Marcos.
El Arco de Triunfo del Carrusel en París está coronado con una réplica de los caballos de San Marcos | foto Thesupermat en Wikimedia Commons
Así, las esculturas permanecieron en París hasta que finalmente tanto el león como los caballos fueron devueltos a Venecia en 1815 por el emperador austríaco tras la derrota de Napoleón en Waterloo, aunque la estatua del león se rompió al ser retirada de la explanada de los Inválidos. Los caballos que hoy coronan el Arco de Triunfo parisino son réplicas de los originales.
Por segunda vez, volvieron a ser colocados en la galería de la basílica de San Marcos, donde estuvieron permanentemente hasta 1981, con solo dos excepciones: durante la Primera Guerra Mundial los caballos junto con otros tesoros del norte de Italia fueron llevados a Roma para protegerlos y, temporalmente, se almacenaron en el Castillo de Sant’Angelo.
Una curiosa coincidencia si tenemos en cuenta que una de las hipótesis sobre su origen afirma que proceden del mausoleo de Adriano, que no es otro que el actual Castillo de Sant’Angelo. Durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial se guardaron en el monasterio de Praglia, cerca de Padua.
Debido al deterioro por la contaminación se decidió sustituirlos por réplicas, que son las que hoy pueden verse presidiendo la famosa plaza veneciana. Los auténticos se guardan en el interior de la basílica, donde están expuestos al público en el museo de la catedral. Son los únicos elementos de una cuadriga de bronce de época clásica que han llegado hasta la actualidad.
The original Horses inside the St Mark's BasilicaThe replica Horses of Saint Mark
The Horses of Saint Mark (Italian: Cavalli di San Marco), also known as the Triumphal Quadriga or Horses of the Hippodrome of Constantinople, is a set of bronze statues of four horses, originally part of a monument depicting a quadriga (a four-horse carriage used for chariot racing). The horses were placed on the facade, on the loggia above the porch, of St Mark's Basilica in Venice, northern Italy, after the sack and looting of Constantinople in 1204. They remained there until looted by Napoleon in 1797 but were returned in 1815. The sculptures have been removed from the facade and placed in the interior of St Mark's for conservation purposes, with replicas in their position on the loggia.
The sculptures date from classical antiquity. Many scholars believe they were sculpted in the 2nd or 3rd century AD, noting similarities to the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius in Rome (c. 175 AD).[1] But some say the evident technical expertise and naturalistic rendering of the animals suggest they were made in Classical Greece of the 5th and 4th centuries BC.[2]
In light of their short backs and long legs, it has been argued that they were originally situated above the eye line,[3] probably created to top a triumphal arch or some other grand building. Perhaps commissioned by the Emperor Septimius Severus, they may originally have been made for the Eastern capital of Constantinople, where they were long displayed.[3]
Analysis suggests that the sculptures are at least 96.67% copper,[4] and therefore should be viewed not as made from bronze but of an impure copper. The relatively low tin content increased the casting temperature to 1200–1300 °C.[5] The copper was chosen to give a more satisfactory mercury gilding.
The horses, along with the quadriga with which they were depicted, were long displayed at the Hippodrome of Constantinople; they may be the "four gilt horses that stand above the Hippodrome" that "came from the island of Chios under Theodosius II" mentioned in the 8th- or early 9th-century Parastaseis syntomoi chronikai.[6] As part of the sack of the capital of the Byzantine Empire in the Fourth Crusade, they were looted by Venetian forces in 1204. That same year, the collars on the four horses were added to obscure where the animals' heads had been severed to allow them to be transported from Constantinople to Venice.[7] Shortly after the Fourth Crusade, DogeEnrico Dandolo sent the horses to Venice, where they were installed on the terrace of the façade of St Mark's Basilica in 1254. Petrarch admired them there.[8]
In 1815, following the final defeat of Napoleon, the horses were returned to Venice by Captain Dumaresq. He had fought at the Battle of Waterloo and was with the Coalition forces in Paris where he was selected, by the Emperor of Austria, to take the horses down from the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and return them to St Mark's in Venice. For the skillful manner in which he performed this work, the Emperor gave him a gold snuff box with his initials in diamonds on the lid.[9]
The horses remained in place over St Mark's until the early 1980s, when damage from air pollution led them to be removed and put on display inside the basilica. They were replaced on the loggia with replicas.
^ Jump up to:abFreeman, Charles (2004). The Horses of St Mark's: A Story of Triumph in Byzantium, Paris and Venice. Overlook Press. ISBN978-1590202678.
^Anon 1979 The Horses of San Marco Thames and Hudson an English translation of a 1977 Venetian city government publication, p. 191
The Triumphal Quadriga is the group of bronze four horses at St. Mark's Basilica. They were originally outside on the façade, but they have been replaced with replicas and moved inside for protection. It is unclear when they were made, but it seems that they were brought to Constantinople and placed on the starting gates at the Hippodrome. It is possible that they originally had a chariot with a driver as part of the sculpture. However everything before its relocation to Venice is uncertain. It is clear that the Venetians brought the horses and later placed them on San Marco's façade after the Crusaders sacked Constantinople in 1204. While most of the bronze sculptures in Constantinople were melted down by the Crusaders, this piece is fortunately one of the few to survive. When Napoleon captured Venice, he brought them to Paris and placed it on the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, which is now topped with another quadriga. The Triumphal Quadriga have influenced many other quadriga as well.
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Copy of the Horses on the Façade of San Marco
Copy of the Horses on Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in Paris commissioned in 1806
Tema anterior
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Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel on the historical axis of Paris © French Moments
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel © French Moments
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Los caballos en la fachada de la basílica | foto 
Vista lateral de los cuatro caballos | foto 
Las esculturas originales, hoy expuestas en el museo de la catedral de San Marcos | foto 
Grabado que muestra el traslado de los caballos a Francia en 1797 | foto 
El Arco de Triunfo del Carrusel en París está coronado con una réplica de los caballos de San Marcos | foto 
Maqueta del Mausoleo de Adriano en Roma (hoy Castillo de Sant’Angelo) coronado por una cuadriga de bronce | foto 
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