The Paladins of Charlemagne
The Paladins of Charlemagne are the largest sculpture Kate Denton has created to date and although they were fashioned in 2006 they arise from thoughts based on two events which took place over thirty 
years apart. In 1973 Kate saw Peter Shaffer’s play ‘Equus’ which was based on a teenager’s obsession with horses and she came away wanting to produce a piece of work based around some of the ideas the play had instilled in her, but due to various constraints at the time the piece was never made. More recently, Kate came across some photographs taken during World War One which comprised stark images of the corpses of men and horses strewn across a frozen battlefield. In one such photo a horse was standing amidst the carnage, head down, physically and mentally shattered – and Kate wondered what power would keep a horse standing loyally along side its master in such horrific conditions. It was from these two events that the sculpture was conceived. Photographed left beside her work, Kate has sought to covey not only the strength, power and nobility of horses but also, their innocence and their unquestionable loyalty to mankind throughout the centuries.
The resulting piece comprises five columns; I, III and V portray horse-kind – whether the grace and elegance of the thoroughbred, the nobility of the work horse or the power of the war horse. All are blinded with hollow eyes to signify their innocence, blind allegiance and unquestioning trust in man. II and IV are more abstracted and portray the horse in the throes of the consequences of its allegiance and obedience to man, whether on the battlefield, in the pits or on the land or even through the disfigurement by teenager, Alan Strang in Equus.