The Little Horse (statue)
The equestrian statue of Charles IV (better known as "El Caballito") is a copper alloy statue created in honor of King Charles IV of Spain. It was designed by the sculptor and architect Manuel Tolsá and is located in the plaza that bears the name of its author in the Historic Center of Mexico City.
Creation
The initiative for the project belonged to Miguel de la Grúa Talamanca, Marquis of Branciforte, who was Viceroy of New Spain. Once the permit for the monument was obtained, those responsible for the work were appointed and it was launched. His construction. For this purpose, the Plaza Mayor (today the Zócalo) was cleaned and an elliptical balustrade with four access bars was placed.
The pedestal for the statue was inaugurated with great popular celebrations and bullfights on December 8, 1796. A provisional statue of wood and gilded stucco was placed on it, which also represented the Spanish monarch.
The horse and the rider were obtained in a single casting in an operation directed by the same Manuel Tolsá y Salvador de la Vega, responsible for some of the largest bells in the Cathedral of Mexico City. Elements such as the base, the sword and some ornamental elements were later integrated through mechanical assemblies and unions. The sources mention that 450 quintals (a Castilian quintal = 46 kg) of alloy were required and this was carried out at the Colegio de San Gregorio, a space currently occupied by the Universidad Obrera. For the mount, the sculptor used as a model a horse belonging to the Marquis of Jaral del Berrio called Tambor. The finishing operations that included the removal of the casting tubes, numerous corrections, smoothing, a magnificent chiseling job and the application of a green pictorial layer, were carried out over 14 months, the investigation shows that these tasks involved skilled artisans like Tolsá's apprentices. The sculpture was moved from the Colegio de San Gregorio to the Plaza Mayor on a cart with bronze wheels that passed over wooden plates. Baron Alexander von Humboldt, who was present at the unveiling, wrote:
I was present in the transport of this enormous mass, from the place of its foundry to the Plaza Mayor, crossed a distance of approximately one thousand six hundred meters in five days. The mechanical means that Mr. Tolsá used to climb on the pedestal, of beautiful Mexican marble, are very ingenious, and would deserve a detailed description. (Humboldt, 1974: 25-26)
After being polished and chiseled, it was taken to its designated place and inaugurated on December 9, 1803. The celebrations and bullfights were repeated with great joy. In Humboldt's opinion, and for this genre, the statue made by Tolsá is only inferior to the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius in Rome.
The statue weighs around 13 tons and is the second largest copper alloy statue obtained in a single operation in the world, which is preserved (there were larger ones but they were destroyed).
Location
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In 1821, due to the anti-Spanish sentiment manifested by the Independence of Mexico, and the desire to put another monument in its place, the statue was covered with a blue tent. Soon the desire arose to destroy the monument (to melt cannons or coins with the metal). An aggravating factor was the fact that, under one of the steed's hooves, a quiver was found, perhaps a sign of vassalage.
It was Lucas Alamán, who convinced Guadalupe Victoria to preserve it by virtue of its aesthetic qualities. As a result, it was relocated in 1822 in the courtyard of the old university, to prevent the town from destroying it. Access to the public was not allowed again until 1824, but in this safer location. In 1852, once the years had passed and spirits had calmed down, it was moved to the intersection of Paseo de la Reforma and Paseo de Bucareli, although protected from popular demonstrations through a fence.
In the 1940s and 1950s, buildings such as the Corcuera Building in 1945 and the National Lottery Building in 1946 were built and, after the earthquake of July 28, 1957, the Corcuera building collapsed and was destroyed.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Paseo de la Reforma was expanded and, in 1973, the Prisma Tower was completed. These changes motivated that in 1979 "El Caballito" would ride again and be placed in its current location, the Manuel Tolsá Plaza of the National Museum of Art, in front of the Minería Palace, an environment more in line with its aesthetics. Currently, as a vestige of such controversy, on the pedestal of the statue you can read the following inscription: "Mexico preserves it as a monument to art." A small, slightly different model can be seen in the Manuel Tolsá Museum, in the Palace of Mining, also the work of that sculptor.
The place it occupied for a long time, on the corner of Paseo de la Reforma and Bucareli avenues, is now occupied by a statue called El Caballito, by the sculptor Enrique Carbajal, erected in honor of the ancient monument, and giving its name to the Torre Caballito behind it.
Restorations
2013
In May 2013, the Government of the Federal District (GDF) authorized the intervention of the sculpture and the pedestal, which according to a brief document, showed, in addition to dirt, some cracks that put the integrity of the monument at risk. The project was commissioned by the Historic Center Authority, a public body of the GDF, who hired the company Marina Restoration of Monuments, belonging to Arturo Javier Marina Othón, to carry out the project. However, the company hired to carry out the restoration intervened in the monument without the authorization of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), applying a method that is out of use and inappropriate for cleaning sculptures of these characteristics, such as the use of a nitric acid solution, an aggressive method that in addition to removing dirt, removes any material on the surface of the sculpture, even part of the metal.
The ongoing result of these actions was reported on social networks and in the media, highlighting the intervention of the Mexican historian and chronicler Guillermo Tovar de Teresa, at the same time that the work was stopped by INAH itself on the 20th. September 2013.
According to the opinion issued by the INAH, the September 2013 intervention “by using nitric acid in such high concentrations, both the patina that protected the surface and a quantity of metal from the alloy were irreversibly eliminated. of the bronze, putting the integrity of the sculpture at risk", with which 50% of that stable layer that protected the original bronze was consequently and "irreversibly lost", for which a new intervention process had to be initiated that restores the lost patina". This time the GDF commissioned the project to the Historical Center Trust of Mexico City (FCHCDMX), under the supervision and authorization of the INAH, as established by the corresponding Mexican legislation.
After the inadequate treatment in 2013, the FCHCDMX carried out a comprehensive study of the piece to fully evaluate it, which included three-dimensional laser scanning, infrared and ultraviolet photography, studies with georadar, ultrasound, colorimetry and millimetric observation of the surface, among others. techniques.
Restoration from 2016 to 2017
As a result of the damage caused by the failed intervention in 2013, the INAH, the Government of Mexico City and the FCHCDMX began a new diagnosis and restoration project in May 2016. For this work, the a team of professionals from conservation-restoration, history, experimental science, engineering and anthropology, led by staff from the National Coordination of Conservation, Restoration and Museography, from the National School of Conservation, Restoration and Museography and the National Coordination of Historical Monuments, of the INAH.
The INAH resumed the research work, including surface cleaning, cleaning tests, stratigraphic coves, their analysis, mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma, infrared spectrometry, gas chromatography, electrochemical evaluation and ray fluorescence spectrometry X that allowed us to constitute a diagnosis and intervention proposal.
In this case the concept of patina was very problematic: sculptors, casters, chemists and restorers often use different definitions. For some it is corrosion, for others a finish, for restoration professionals: a normal change in materials, which must be judged critically without ever forgetting aesthetics. Based on that confusion, agreements were impossible. Restoration and chemistry professionals took on the task of observing the work and documenting it, executing what the pioneer restorer in Mexico Jaime Cama calls "the dialogue with the work", and what Clark calls " #34;the essential task of understanding what is going to be preserved. Thus, on the first day in contact with the work, it was found that in the area not affected in 2013, under the dirt and layers of wax and asphalt that gave it its black color, there was a green pictorial layer, of origin. Thus, 85 stratigraphic coves were made, and more than 60 samples were taken for the analysis of their strata through cross sections, which were carried out by the specialized chemist Javier Vázquez.
The restoration confirmed that horse and rider were achieved together in a single cast, and that there were no elements that had been said – incorrectly – to be sections of an assembly, since in reality there are only corrections of casting defects, for example. The rest is understandable and less than what happened in other sculptures with similar characteristics, such as Peter the Great in Saint Petersburg. The evidence describes the enormous technical challenge faced and overcome by Tolsá and his team.
It was clear that the colorful corrosion – which many understand as patina – is not the only important material that must be preserved on the surface of the sculpture, which is why the term "surface layer" was preferred. that does not involve a prior judgment, allowing us to discern the importance and need to conserve its constituents based on their contribution to the appreciation of the work, protection against corrosion, and the aesthetic, historical and technological information they provide.
Environmental exposure, previous interventions and the results of Javier Marina's work in 2013 damaged its surface and caused the irreversible loss of historical and technological information. The alteration and deterioration included the pedestal due to the runoff of nitric acid that was occupied in 2013, which dissolved part of the stone and stained it with dissolved copper. At the time of work beginning, the sculpture had lost 45% of its original surface layer, had an unstable surface, a layer of dust and soot and rain runoff, as well as soluble corrosion products. The pedestal had various stains, detachments, loss of elements and stains due to humidity. After a meticulous material and sociological analysis, and discussions between national and international experts, it was agreed to eliminate the wax and asphalt, which in addition to having problems with adherence, had an aesthetic, historical and technological importance much lower than that of the green pictorial layer, since they were the product of maintenance carried out during the 20th century ; They did not respond to a plastic intention, nor to a historical event.
For almost six months, the 46.5m² surface was cleaned and in the area not damaged in 2013 (approximately 25.5m²) and around 13m² of green pictorial layer in different states of conservation were recovered. With the surface of the sculpture clean and stabilized, it was necessary to resolve its image. The proposals to make an artificial patination were not considered because although this process would have been accepted by many – since it is what they know and what is common in contemporary monumental sculpture – it would have ended up destroying the more than 13m² of physical evidence of the pictorial finish of Tolsá, so a variety of options were analyzed and it was decided that the most appropriate thing was to design and apply an artificial coating system, which required the work of professional people in restoration, chemistry, chemical engineering, who carried out research, experimentation, analysis, and participated in multiple discussions and agreements.
During the restoration work, the time capsule was found that was deposited in the 70s when the sculpture was moved to its current location. Throughout this time the sculpture remained covered by scaffolding.
The sculpture was put on public view again on June 28, 2017 in an official ceremony.
Image gallery
The Caballito, seen east of Tacuba Street.
National Museum of Art MUNAL.
The Caballito, seen towards the west of Tacuba Street.
View at sunset.
El Caballito, in 1948, on Paseo de la Reforma and Avenida Bucareli.
