Statue of King Wenceslas Riding an Upside-Down Dead Horse – Prague, Czechia - Atlas Obscura

Statue of King Wenceslas Riding an Upside-Down Dead Horse

A mocking tribute to the past and modern leadership of Prague. 

1623
1175

Hanging from the ceiling of the Art Nouveau Lucerna Palace in Prague, an ancient king rides triumphantly astride… an upside-down, apparently dead horse.

Created by Prague-born artist David Černý, whose claim to fame was the painting a Soviet tank pink as a memorial to the Velvet Revolution, he’s also known for his unsettling large scale installation piece of babies crawling their way up the Prague television tower, among other works of modern surrealism.

The sculpture is a mocking reference to the more famous equestrian statue of King (and later, Saint) Wenceslas that sits in Wenceslas Square, and possibly a mocking nod to Czech president Vaclav Klaus, although the artist will not say what his intentions were.

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