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Origin and history

The Horses of Marly are two monumental sculptures in Carrara marble, made between 1743 and 1745 by Guillaume Coustou. Commanded in 1739 by Louis XV, they were to decorate the waterworks of the park of the castle of Marly, replacing works by Antoine Coysevox moved to the Tuileries. The models, chosen by the king in 1743, were installed in Marly in 1745 after two years of work. These sculptures mark an artistic turning point, abandoning mythological references for a realistic and dynamic representation of horses and their palefreniers.

In 1794 the Horses of Marly were transferred from the Concorde to Paris. Restored in 1840 by Louis-Denis Caillouette, they remained there until 1984, when the pollution and vibrations of the military parades damaged them. Replaced by reconstituted marble copies made by Michel Bourbon, the originals were preserved at the Louvre Museum in the Marly courtyard. An additional copy, authorized by Bouygues, now decorates their headquarters.

The works of Coustou, the last of his career, enjoyed immediate success, inspiring reduced replicas and announcing romantic enthusiasm for equestrian subjects. Their technique, carved into monolithic blocks, and their expressiveness (buzzy horses, muscular palefreniers) were admired, as Victor Hugo attests to "these heinous marbles grazed on a golden cloud". Coustou s.

The casts of the Horses of Marly, made by Michel Bourbon in 1985, were placed close to the original waterworks in Marly-le-Roi (Yvelines), under the direction of architect Serge Macel. These copies perpetuate their historical presence, while the originals, protected at the Louvre, remain accessible to the public. Their history reflects the artistic and political evolutions, from the monarchy to the Republic, through their equestrian symbolism and cultural posterity.

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