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Henri IV equestrian statue in Paris à Paris 1er dans Paris 1er

Patrimoine classé
Statue
Paris

Henri IV equestrian statue in Paris

    Place du Pont-Neuf
    75001 Paris 1er Arrondissement
Statue équestre dHenri IV - Paris 1er
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Statue équestre dHenri IV à Paris
Crédit photo : Daderot - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
23 août 1614
Inauguration of the first statue
1635
Completion of the original pedestal
12 août 1792
Revolutionary destruction
3 mai 1814
Provisional statue erected
25 août 1818
Inauguration of the current statue
1992
Historical monument classification
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The equestrian statue itself; the pedestal adorned with bas-reliefs; the base with steps; the fence grid (see Box non-cadastre, public domain): classification by decree of 31 March 1992

Key figures

Henri IV - King of France and Navarre Subject of statues, symbol of national reconciliation.
Marie de Médicis - Queen of France, widow of Henri IV Sponsor of the first statue in 1614.
François-Frédéric Lemot - Sculptor Author of the present statue (1818).
Jean Bologne et Pietro Tacca - Sculptors Authors of the 1614 statue.
Louis XVIII - King of France During his reign, the statue was restored in 1818.
Cardinal de Richelieu - Minister of Louis XIII Promoter of the completion of the pedestal in 1635.

Origin and history

The equestrian statue of Henri IV, located in Place du Pont-Neuf in Paris, is a bronze work by François-Frédéric Lemot and inaugurated in 1818. It represents Henry IV in armor, crowned with laurel and holding a scepter, on a horse whose posture differs from that of the king. This monument replaces a first statue of 1614, commissioned by Marie de Medici and destroyed in 1792 during the Revolution, as well as a second provisional statue erected in 1814.

The pedestal of the present statue carries bas-reliefs and two inscriptions in Latin. The first, on the front, commemorates the restoration of the statue after Napoleon's fall, thanks to a public subscription under Louis XVIII. It was inaugurated on August 25, 1818, Saint Louis Day. The second inscription, at the rear, recalls the original initiative of Louis XIII and Richelieu to honor Henry IV in 1635, after the death of the king.

The 1614 statue, the work of Jean Bologna and Pietro Tacca, was inaugurated with great pomp on August 23rd of this year. His pedestal, completed in 1635, included slave statues at angles and five bas-reliefs evoking the victories of Henry IV. Shot down in 1792, his remains (horse's pad, hand, boot and king's arm) were found in the Seine and are now preserved at the Musée Carnavalet. A head, perhaps original, would be in a private collection.

In 1814, a temporary statue was erected from a plaster cast of a horse from the Quadrige of Brandenburg, on a base bearing the inscription "The return of Louis revives Henri". The present statue, commanded by legitimist circles, was designed by Lemot, who inspired fragments found and, according to testimonies, the Count of Vaublanc as a model. At its inauguration, commemorative objects (parchments, medals, books) were placed in the belly of the horse, now kept in the National Archives.

Ranked a historical monument in 1992, the statue dominates the square of the Green-Galant, at the tip of the island of the City. It is surrounded by a grid and placed on an esplanade in the centre of Bridge Nine. An anecdote reports that one of the first photographs of human beings (a daguerreotype of 1837) was taken at his feet, showing two workers during his interview.

The statues of the captives of 1614, interpreted as symbolizing the four parts of the world or the ages of life, are now on display at the Louvre Museum. The bas-reliefs of 1628, representing the triumphant battles and entrances of Henry IV, disappeared with revolutionary destruction. The current pedestal partially reproduces the inscriptions of 1635, glorifying Louis XIII and Richelieu rather than Marie de Médicis, initiator of the original project.

External links