What Happened to Leonardo's Giant Horse?

Image: Melchionne (o 'Melchiorre) Ferraiolo, "Cronaca della Napoli aragonese" (o "Cronaca figurata del Quattrocento"), circa 1498., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Ludovico Sforza’s political ambition did not end with the title of Duke. Together with his ally Ercole d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, Ludovico met with King Charles VIII of France to discuss the conquest of Naples. The King liked what he saw and quickly sent his forces to attack both Naples and Florence (Bush, 1978). 

Sforza, after seeing the power of the French Army, began having second thoughts. Fearing that his rule was in danger, he conferred again with d’Este. The two men feared an attack was inevitable. Sforza, in a hurry to obtain more weapons, gave d’Este Leonardo’s bronze that had previously been set aside for the horse sculpture. d’Este was instructed to use the bronze to create a cannon (Bush, 1978).

Leonardo da Vinci was still planning to finish his commission. He simply needed Sforza to replace the borrowed bronze. Unfortunately, according to Virginia Bush (1978), Sforza had spent a small fortune obtaining the title of Duke from Emperor Maximilian.  He could no longer afford to purchase the large amount of bronze needed for the horse. Leonardo was angered by the situation, writing to his friends that he had not been paid and that the horse remained unfinished. He lamented, “Of the horse I will say nothing because I know the times” (Bush, 1978, p. 59).

Leonardo did not give up. Even without bronze readily available, he continued to consider the best way to cast the sculpture. He believed he could do a large-scale one-piece cast even though a sculpture of this size had never been successfully created this way.  Leonardo also made preparations by building the mold and planning for the furnaces required to melt the metal. 

Despite Leonardo’s determination, the sculpture never happened. The French army invaded Milan in 1499 (Bush, 1978). Ludovico Sforza was forced to leave the city. The French soldiers, finding themselves occupying Milan with little to do, had to create their own amusements. Leonardo’s huge model was destroyed after being used as target practice (Bush, 1978).

Leonardo’s massive sculpture was referred to by his contemporaries as a failure.  Especially after his rival, Michelangelo, began work on his own gigantic sculpture in the fall of 1501. Bush (1978) disagrees with this consensus, stating, “But like so many of Leonardo’s ideas and inventions, his plans for casting the great horse were not so much impractical, but ahead of their time” (p. 60). Although the horse itself was never cast, Leonardo's ambitious design remains one of the greatest "what ifs" in Renaissance art.

Further Reading

Bush, Virginia I. (1978). Leonardo's Sforza Monument and

Cinquecento Sculpture. Arte Lombarda, 50, 47–68.