Equestrian Portrait of Charles the Bald/Charlemagne, is a 9th century statue that is meant to imitate an earlier Roman equestrian statue, Marcus Aurelius. Carolingian describes both the dynasty and the empire that began under the rule of Charlemagne. Charlemagne started ruling the Franks in 768 and was crowned as the Holy Roman Emperor in 800. “The Dark Ages: An Age of Light” describes how the Franks believed they were the “chosen people" to save Europe from Islam after they defeated invading Muslims from Spain. Charlemagne was the leader of the largest empire in Europe since the Romans ruled. This is why he likely imitated Roman artwork – to strive to reach the greatness of the Roman Empire. The statue of Charles the Bald or Charlemagne…show more content… 176 CE. During the Carolingian Period, the Marcus Aurelius statue was originally believed to be of Constantine, the first Christian emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Franks during the Carolingian period became extreme believers in Christianity and looked to their artwork to express this. This fervor explains the extreme devotion shown through their art; money spent on Christian artwork was how they showed devotion to God and his original chosen ruler, Charlemagne. This is why it is more likely that the unknown figure in the Carolingian statue is an imperial representation of Charlemagne copying the Roman style. However, the Roman original is clearly more advanced, despite being made earlier. Marcus Aurelius has a height of 11’6”while Charlemagne is only 9.5” tall, so that makes the Roman realism even more impressive. Both carry no weapons or armor, but wearing only a flowing garment that looks more realistic on Marcus Aurelius and more stylized on Charlemagne. Marcus Aurelius points and reaches out as if trying to communicate with someone. Charlemagne clearly indicates his power to rule with the orb, commonly thought to represent power over the world. The emperors being on horses are another indication that this is meant to be an