Prohászka László: Equestrian Statues - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1997)
The relation between human beings and the horse first began several millennia ago. Horse figures already appear in the earliest cave paintings. To possess a fine horse was always a symbol of enjoying a privileged position in society. The horse meant more than any other animal or military equipment. One only has to think of the legendary horses of heroic histories or the magic steeds helping their masters, the youngest sons of folk tales. The high esteem in which horses were held is also suggested by early Chinese and Indian art, not to mention pictures and statues made by ancient Egyptian and, especially, Assyrian masters. The Greeks and Romans were also fond of battle scenes involving horses, and it is in their sculpture where figures struggling to subdue recalcitrant horses make their first appearance, alongside another popular motif of later periods - the battle cart called biga, triga or quadriga, depending on the number of horses drawing it. Although the figure of the horseman also appeared in Gothic art, it was with the Renaissance that we now regard as the time when real equestrian statues first appeared. Since then, only the styles and, of course, the persons represented have changed, often in an astonishingly rapid succession. Each art has its own specific, internal, divisions. One such distinct branch of sculpture is the category of public monuments. A subdivision of this is made up of the smaller group of equestrian sculptures. These are the aristocrats of monuments erected in public spaces. Because of their exorbitant costs, even the greatest metropolises of the world can boast but a few of these equestrian monuments. Given the huge expense, the consignor normally hires the best artists of the period, rather than experiment with obscure talent. The capital of Hungary was no exception when it always employed the finest sculptors available. That is why one can safely claim that few European capitals can boast as many superior equestrian statues as Budapest. This volume proceeds in a more or less strictly chronological order as it introduces the equestrian statues erected (or planned) in the public spaces of Budapest, naturally making mention of those which can no longer be seen. The inscriptions carved into the pedestals, together with any variations, are duly cited. Statues, usually of a lesser artistic value, erected in cemeteries and in private areas 3
