Monument to Charlemagne

The monument to Charlemagne, which is located near the entrance to Notre Dame de Paris, Parisians call Charlemagne - so the French phonetically transformed the Latin name Carolus Magnus (Carolus Magnus). The monument has a curious and slightly sad history.

The author of the composition, hereditary sculptor Louis Rocher, spent ten years of his life on this colossal work. The monument was his last work: in 1878, shortly before the completion of the work, the sculptor died. The case of Louis was taken by his brother Charles, painter and sculptor.

The younger brother fell a heavy share: he spent almost all his savings on the completion of the monument, but he needed a pedestal worthy of the work. The city authorities categorically refused to buy the statue and pay for the construction of the pedestal, allowed only to put Charlemagne in the square in front of Notre Dame. Then Charles Rocher himself ordered a modest pedestal, and soon the builder sued, demanding to pay him 4,155 francs, which the sculptor did not have. The New York Times wrote on April 13, 1899: "Rocher is in a sad position ... the only thing the creditor can take out of the debt is the statue itself, on behalf of which the Paris press is now appealing to the city, the government, and the public to terminate a court that does not honor their artistic taste."

The artistic merits of the monument are controversial, but it is certainly interesting archaeologically accurate reproduction of the smallest details of clothing and weapons of Charlemagne himself and his knights Roland and Olivier. Without a doubt, the peculiarities of education and education of Louis Rocher, who was also a scientist, a specialist in oriental languages, affected here. So, the sword hanging on Roland's thigh exactly reproduces the original, stored in Madrid. However, the figure of Charlemagne does not correspond to the original: it is known that the extremely tall (192 centimeters) monarch in the elderly became very fat and bald. On the horse we see a long-haired old man.

Although with scandal, but the monument was installed in a prestigious place. This