Nearly five hundred years
after his death, thousands of people flock each year to exhibitions about
Leonardo da Vinci's work or gaze with fascination upon carefully preserved
notebook pages written in his personal code. The translations reveal a man
whose creativity responded to a virtually limitless range of scientific and
artistic challenges. Every corner of western civilization has been touched
by his genius, and the "horse-that-never-was" would have assured
his unparalleled reputation as a sculptor. This is the romantic story of Leonardo's
unfinished horse, the resurrection of the idea by Charles Dent, and the gift
of a new 24-foot bronze Horse to the people of Italy.
During the seventeen years that followed the Duke of Sforza's initial request
for the largest equine statue ever conceived, the artist also worked on The
Last Supper and a series of portraits of Italian nobles. At the same time,
his talent for engineering produced a city plan for Milan, new weapons designs
and a defense system for the castle which the Duke probably should have taken
more seriously. And if that weren't enough, the Duke expected Leonardo to
create stage sets, manage gala parties and compose rhymes and puzzles for
the ladies of the Court. Clearly, royal sponsorship did not always release
Leonardo to pursue his artistic endeavors.
Finally, however, a 24 foot clay model dominated the landscape in a vineyard near the castle. The horse would be cast in bronze according to a revolutionary method that was detailed in Leonardo's carefully kept notebooks. Scholar Carlo Pedretti describes this place:
That site, which is today
a dense and noisy urban district, was then a pleasant expanse of open fields,
dotted with trees and shrubs, or neatly kept as orchards, vineyards or citrus
groves. One can well imagine the skyline of such a peaceful landscape, bathed
in the yellow light of a misty morning of a September
day in the Lombard plain... and see that skyline suddenly interrupted by the
imposing silhouette of Leonardo's colossal clay model, standing there with
the foreboding of a Trojan horse. That must have been the way the Gascon bowmen
of the French troops saw it when they entered Milan...on 10 September 1499.
And, tragically, the victorious French archers used the magnificent horse
for target practice, reducing it to a mound of clay. Legend has it that Leonardo
never ceased mourning his lost horse.
Over the centuries, many of the working sketches for the horse were lost.
One set of notebooks, known as the Windsor Collection, came into the possession
of the British royal family. Another collection was discovered in Madrid's
Biblioteca Nacional in 1966, the now famous Codex Madrid II. Then a
1977 National Geographic article about Leonardo launched a new existence
not only for Leonardo's horse, but also for Charles Dent, a retired airline
pilot, artist and art collector from Fogelsville, Pennsylvania. The romantic
legend with its combination of creative genius and human frailty cast its
spell over Dent. It even seems appropriate that Charlie Dent spent so much
of his time flying, an experience that Leonardo himself yearned for.
Already a Leonardo admirer
and a Renaissance man in his own right, Charlie Dent decided that Leonardo
and Italy should have a horse - a little late to be sure, but as a gesture
of appreciation from the American people for all that the Renaissance has
meant to our own culture. He took up the horse's reins and remained at full
gallop for the rest of his life.
Dent presided over years of research and planning that responded to the intriguing
possibilities of the view from a new angle, a shift in light or a change in
position. This twentieth century evolution of the horse has been marked by
a determination to accurately interpret the master's vision. There was only
one Leonardo, and it is inconceivable to think of replicating Leonardo's horse
exactly as it existed in his mind.
The enduring goal has
been to produce a sensitive, appropriate monument to Leonardo's genius and
his contributions to the world in which we live today. As Charlie Dent emphasized,
"It is the gesture itself which is most important."
Thoughtful changes have reflected basic elements of other Leonardo works as
well as the classical images of his time. For instance, Carlo Pedretti, a
member of the Council of Scholars and a renowned Leonardo scholar, recommended
that the position of the head should more closely resemble that of the late
15th century classical horse. Sculptor Nina Akamu, hired in 1996 to complete
a new, final model of The Horse, studied not only Leonardo's horse sketches,
but also his entire body of work, in order to correctly interpret the design.
Charlie Dent's talent for attracting commitment to Leonardo's vision led to
a long list of unsung sculptors, writers, business people, teachers and horse
lovers who have contributed time, effort and funds.
Determination and modern technology could not minimize the challenges that
Dent and his supporters faced. It is ironic that his will, primarily a bequest
to The Horse, provided the substantial sum that took the model to the foundry.
However, supported by donors from all 50 states, The Horse's installation
and unveiling were completed on 10 September, 1999. Many of the people who
contributed were in Milan to share the excitement and celebration surrounding
the unveiling.
