From Constantinople to Venice
The four statues of the Horses of San Marco, nowadays exibited in the Basilica of San Marco in Venice, were originally located at the Hippodrome of Constantinople, modern day Istanbul in Turkey. This arena was first built during the reign of Septimus Severus in the 3rd century AD, and was used throughout the Byzantine period. It was the place of very popular chariot races, lavish celebrations, parades and festivals, as well as the public executions. Following the 4th Crusade, when its monuments and artworks were plundered, the Hippodrome fell out of use.
There is much discussion about their origin of the Four Horses. For a long time scholars thought that they were made in the 4th century BC by the Greek sculptor Lysippos, and the opinions still range between the 4th century BC and the 4th century AD. There is the hypothesis that the work was not Greek but Roman, likely from the 2nd or 3rd century AD, the reign of Septimus Severus, when the artists were still influenced by the great Hellenistic tradition. Its last restoration did not reveal any element that might help with the dating. However, it is interesting that the composition is often described as bronze, because the horses were actually made with 96% copper. The use of this metal, certain features and technique used in sculpture making suggest the Roman period, rather than Hellenistic.
It is certain that the horses had been placed in Constantinople, probably in the great Byzantine Hippodrome. According to some sources, they probably arrived to the city from the island of Chios, under the emperor Theodosius II (408-450). An 8th century document about various monuments of Constantinople mentions at least three teams of horses, and each of them can be the team of St Mark’s. This is how Nicetas Choniates, the author of that report, describes the horse statues at the Hippodrome:
“Now, in the Hippodrome there was a tower which stood opposite the spectators; beneath it were the starting posts, which opened into the racecourse through parallel arches and above were fixed four gilt-bronze horses, their necks somewhat curved as if they eyed each other as they raced round the last lap.”
With its destiny that has been shaped by significant historical events in Europe, this sculptural group is more than an artifact. After the conquest of Constantinople, at the end of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the horses were sent to Venice by doge Enrico Dandolo – the leader of the Venetian Crusaders. It was a part of the war plunder together with other valuable works. In 1254 the horses were placed on the terrace of the facade of the Basilica of San Marco. When Petrarch visited the city in 1364, he had chance to see and admire them.
After five centuries, in 1797, when Napoleon Bonaparte conquered significant part of Italy, he had the horses removed from the facade and brought them to Paris. He used them with a chariot to form a victory quadriga on the top of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, built as a commemoration of his victories. However, the horses did not stay in Paris for long. In 1815, after Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, the horses were brought back to Venice, in the presence of Franz I of Austria, the new sovereign.
Except in times of war conflicts when they were moved to safe places, the horses remained on the terrace of the basilica until the 1980s. Because of increased air pollution and concern for their preservation, they were then placed in the basilica museum and replaced with replicas.
Another historical church – the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, also keeps memory of these interesting historical events. Enrico Dandolo, the leader of Crusaders, was about 90 years old during the conquest of Constantinople. He died in the city, was buried in the Hagia Sophia, and the lid of sarcophagus with his name is located in its upper gallery.