Equestrian sculpture of Charles IV
Date
1803
Creator
Tolsá, Manuel (1757-1816)
Location
Mexico City, MEX (current location)
Introduction
This famous equestrian image of Charles IV now stands in front of the National Museum of Art in Mexico City. Since its creation in the late 18th century, it has occupied several sites in the city—each shift responding to changes in political values and artistic taste.
Iconography
The original design for the sculpture called for busts of the King’s ancestors on the pedestal. These were omitted in favor of symbols of the four parts of the world that, in theory, made obeisance to the King above. Plaques set into the pedestal commemorate successive rededications of the monument. One was commissioned by the Mexican president José López Portillo (1976-82), who thereby connected himself to the country’s long history of rulers. In this statue, the king holds a short staff in his outstretched hand. Royal officials also carried staffs, so the action of the distant and high-born king was echoed by his representatives in Mexico City. The statue has been moved during its life. Originally meant to be set in the main plaza, or zócalo, today the statue occupies the plaza outside the main entrance of Museo Nacional de Arte, seen in the background. It faces the Palacio de Minería (built 1797-1813), a building also designed by Manuel Tolsá.
Context/Collection History
The statue was once the centerpiece of Mexico City’s zócalo, which was redesigned to accommodate it. An early version of this statue was inaugurated in 1796, where it stood facing the National Palace—both home and offices of the Viceroy. Once Mexico declared itself independent from Spanish rule, such a clear statement of royal power was unwelcome, and the statue was moved to the patio of the university. More recently, the statue was installed in front of the National Museum of Art, some five blocks away from its originally intended home.
Photo credit
Barbara E. Mundy
Cite as
Dana Leibsohn and Barbara E. Mundy.
Vistas: Visual Culture in Spanish America, 1520-1820. http://www.fordham.edu/vistas, 2015.
Vistas: Visual Culture in Spanish America, 1520-1820. http://www.fordham.edu/vistas, 2015.
Selected bibliography
Bargellini, Clara. 1987. “La Lealtad Americana: El significado de la estatua ecuestre de Carlos IV.” In Iconología y sociedad: Arte colonial hispanoamericano. XLIV Congreso Internacional de Americanistas. Mexico City: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 207-220.
Bargellini, Clara. 1990. “View of the Plaza Mayor Mexico City.” In Mexico: Splendors of Thirty Centuries. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 489-490.
Niell, Paul and Stacie Widdifield, eds. 2013. Buen Gusto and Classicism in the Visual Culture of Latin America, 1780-1910. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
Pinoncelly, Salvador. 1998. Manuel Tolsá, arquitecto. Mexico City: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes.
Bargellini, Clara. 1990. “View of the Plaza Mayor Mexico City.” In Mexico: Splendors of Thirty Centuries. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 489-490.
Niell, Paul and Stacie Widdifield, eds. 2013. Buen Gusto and Classicism in the Visual Culture of Latin America, 1780-1910. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
Pinoncelly, Salvador. 1998. Manuel Tolsá, arquitecto. Mexico City: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes.
Collection
Citation
“Equestrian sculpture of Charles IV,” VistasGallery, accessed September 16, 2024, https://vistasgallery.ace.fordham.edu/items/show/1717.