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Down through time, horses have been so important to mankind that many of the ancient sculptors made statues of a person sitting on a horse. This kind of statue is called an equestrian statue. The word, equestrian means "on horseback." One of the oldest equestrian statues in the world is of Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor. The statue stands near the capital in Rome, Italy.
Another famous equestrian statue is the one of Joan of Arc in the Place du Martroi in Orleans, France. Joan was riding a horse when she led the French army to victory. Scotland has such statues as Robert the Bruce, king of Scotland and William Wallace, patriot. In Lima, Peru, you can see an equestrian statue of the Spanish conqueror, Francisco Pizarro.
In London, England you can see another famous equestrian statue. The statue of Richard I ,"the Lion-hearted," stands in front of the Houses of Parliament.
Christ of the Andes:
Years ago the people of Chile and Argentina disputed about the border between the countries of South America. Later on they came to a peace agreement and to signify their peace treaty they built a statue. Mateo Alonzo, a famous Argentine sculptor, had his country melt down cannons and he used the metal to make a statue of Christ. The beautiful statue was named Christ of the Andes. The statue still stands at the top of Uspallata Pass in the Andes Mountains on the border between the two countries. One hand of Christ holds onto a cross and the other is raised in praise.
Christ the Redeemer:
There is another famous statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The statue, Christ the Redeemer, is made of concrete and stands as high as 120 feet. Since it was built on top of Corcovado Mountain it has been lighted with floodlights every night. By doing so you can still look up and see the magnificent statue even in the dark, looking out over Rio. Even if you are on a ship, many miles out to sea you can still see the statue standing tall upon the mountain.
Queen Victoria:
In front of Buckingham Palace in London, England you can see a statue of Queen Victoria, who ruled England longer than any other monarch. Her reign lasted from 1837 to 1901. In addition to being queen of England, she was also the queen of Ireland, and empress of India. She is considered to be the last English queen to have great power. She did so much good for England that the nineteenth century is named after her and is called, the Victorian Era.
William Tell:
We'll never know for sure if William Tell was a real person but he is considered a national hero in Switzerland. The story has been passed down through generations that long ago a man named Gessler, an Austrian, tried to make the people of Altdorf, Switzerland bow to a hat on a pole. Because William Tell refused to bow, he was arrested and locked up. Later, Gessler declared Tell could be set free if he could shoot an apple off his son's head using a crossbow. The brave William Tell shot the arrow, splitting the apple in half without causing any harm to his son.
Today a statue stands of William Tell in Altdorf. Each summer William Tell's life is portrayed by actors in Altdorf. The play is acted out according to the writings of Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller, the German playwright.
The Statue of Liberty:
One of the largest statues ever made was built in France and then shipped across the Atlantic Ocean as a gift to the people of the United States from France. Its real name is Liberty Enlightening the World, but the nickname of Statue of Liberty caught on. The great monument stands on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. The tall, robed lady stands for liberty, and she holds a torch above her head to proclaim it. Frederic Auguste Bartholdi designed the statue. He and his workers made the statue by making an iron framework and then hammering huge sheets of copper over it and shaping it into the great lady that it is today. France has a model of the Statue of Liberty on a bridge over the Seine River in Paris but it is not near as large as the original.
Three men on horses:
On the side of Stone Mountain near Atlanta, Georgia is a giant sized statue of three men riding horses. The three men were the famous U.S. Southern leaders, Jefferson Davis, Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee. When the sculptors first began they used hammers and chisels to carve the statue. Later, they found an easier way by using dynamite to blast the stone, making the statue quicker to carve. Because of the difficulties, work was called to a halt on the statue but years later, sculptors started carving again. This time they used fire to cut into the stone, and when it was finished, the tremendous statue had taken 50 years to complete.
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