Gilles Guerin, “The Horses of the Sea”, Marble, 1670, Commisioned by King Louis XIV for the Gardens of Versailles

Executed by the sculptor Gilles Guérin (1611-1678) to a design by Louis XIV’s court painter, Charles Le Brun, the horses were just one part of a larger composition that featured another double horse and triton grouping by the Marsy brothers, “The Horses of Apollo Groomed by Tritons”, and a central sculpture by François Girardon, “Apollo Tended by the Nymphs of Tethys”.

Designed to depict the Greek god resting at the end of his daily procession across the heavens in the chariot of the Sun, all three sculptures were carved from the same white Carrara marble and all were destined for the Grotto of Tethys, a whimsical, underwater-inspired pavilion whose interior was decorated with precious stones, shells, mirrors, mosaics, and masks.

Like the other sculptures that were being installed in Versailles’ grounds during the first phase of its construction, such as Charles le Brun’s Fountain of Apollo, which also features the Greek god with horses attended by tritons, the sculptures were intended to draw parallels between the mythological attributes of the sun god and reign of the self-styled Sun King.

“Louis XIV’s idea of identifying himself with the sun was probably his best decision because it has resonated since that time and even to today,” explains Laurent Salomé, director of National Museum of the Palaces of Versailles and the Trianon.

The sculpture is now on exhibit at the Louvre Abu Dhabi.