On horseback! Equestrian portraiture in Renaissance France

The exhibition shows the renewal of the equestrian figure during the Renaissance. Medieval tradition links the horse portrait to chivalry, staged on the battlefield. Contacts with Italy revive the memory of ancient emperors associated with a calm and majestic equestrian appearance, opposed to chivalrous ardor. France, for its part, offers a real model: the sovereign and his mount richly adorned in profile. It will be taken up by all the Valois and Bourbon kings. Consecration of the ambitions of the Renaissance, the equestrian statue takes over the public square, paving the way for the concept of a royal square, the setting for the statue of the sovereign on horseback that the 17th century will make triumphant.

Curatorship Guillaume Fonkenell, chief heritage curator
With the exceptional support of the BNF
With the support of the company Vygon

Access included in the entrance fee.