Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel Quadriga - Paris, France
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 48° 51.702 E 002° 19.980
31U E 451079 N 5412296
This arch and quadriga are located next to the Louvre Museum in Paris.
Waymark Code: WMD7JG
Location: Île-de-France, France
Date Posted: 12/01/2011
Views: 90
Completed in 1808, this arch was built to celebrate Napoleon's recent victories. However, the original quadriga (four-horse chariot) atop the arch was removed (and returned to Austria). The quadriga atop the arch now (sculpted by Baron François Joseph Bosio) was installed in 1828..and depicts Peace (a woman)in honor of the restoration of the Bourbon monarchs. All four of the horses have one hoof raised.
There are several bas-reliefs as well on the monument which depicts Napoleaon and his soldiers in various settings. This website (
visit link) informs us that:
"The eight marble Corinthian pillars are topped with statues of soldiers from Napoleon's army. And in true Roman fashion, the arch contains several bas-reliefs depicting the story of his military campaign. The bas-reliefs were removed by the allied army in 1815 but they were put in place again in 1830."
Wikipedia (
visit link) adds:
"Designed by Charles Percier and Pierre François Léonard Fontaine, the arch was built between 1806 and 1808 by the Emperor Napoleon I on the model of the Arch of Constantine (312 AD) in Rome.
It was originally surmounted by the famous horses of Saint Mark's Cathedral in Venice, which had been captured in 1798 by Napoleon. In 1815, following the Battle of Waterloo and the Bourbon restoration, France ceded the quadriga to the Austrian empire which had annexed Venice under the terms of the Congress of Vienna. The Austrians immediately returned the statuary to its original place in Venice. The horses were replaced in 1828 by a quadriga sculpted by Baron François Joseph Bosio, depicting Peace riding in a triumphal chariot led by gilded Victories on both sides. The composition commemorates the Restoration of the Bourbons following Napoleon's downfall."