The Equestrian Portrait of Charlemagne

The equestrian portrait of charlemagne is a 9th century statuette that depicts the ruler of the Frankish kingdom. This king, later known as the Holy Roman Emperor, led an empire that covered most of continental Europe and unified it under Christian rule. This equestrian statue likely imitated the earlier emperors, particularly Marcus Aurelius, and served as an official emblem of his leadership. The Carolingian era was also a period of intense religious devotion.

The artist of this piece modeled the rider’s body and face to portray a figure that is at once dynamic and passive, with a powerful presence conveyed by the musculature of his body and by the expression in his eyes. His beard is curly, compact, and spread evenly across his chin. He wears a Persian-style hat with the brim pulled down over his right eye. His left hand was originally positioned to guide the reins (now lost) between the index and middle fingers, but it is now displayed with its palm facing upward.

This equestrian statuette is an important source of information about the way that portraits were used in the early Middle Ages. It offers a glimpse of the importance of dynastic iconography in this period and, as such, it helps to shed light on the ways that portraits functioned as political documents and cultural objects.

Although scholars do not know the exact occasion when this equestrian statue was created, it was probably meant to commemorate some event that celebrated the king’s military or political successes. One possibility is that the sculpture marked the conquest of Lotharingia in 869-870.

Because of the difficulty of obtaining ancient literary testimonies, the interpretation and chronology of this equestrian statue must rely on its physical characteristics. Scholars have interpreted this piece using portrait typology and other methods such as reading hairstyle and examining facial physiognomy.

The resemblance of the rider’s profile to that on coins produced in this period has led some researchers to suggest that it could be a representation of Charles the Bold, son of the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne. It is worth noting, however, that this theory is based only on circumstantial evidence.