The Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece that never was, thanks to an assassination, a war, an abduction and an invasion

Leonardo da Vinci knew the right strings to pull. Keen to work for the Milanese nobleman Ludovico Sforza, he offered his services not only as engineer and architect, but also as a sculptor: ‘I would undertake the work of the bronze horse, which shall perpetuate with immortal glory and eternal honour the auspicious memory of the Prince your father and of the illustrious house of Sforza.’

Ludovico’s brother, Galeazzo Sforza, had first come up with the idea of an equestrian monument to their father, Francesco, one of Italy’s greatest condottieri, but the former’s assassination put a literal end to the plans. When Ludovico returned from exile in 1479, he revived the idea and eventually commissioned the statue from Leonardo.

Never one to lack ambition, the Tuscan artist initially conceived Francesco astride, towering above a fallen enemy, but he struggled to pull it off on the monumental scale Ludovico required and, by 1490, he had changed to a more manageable walking design.

Leonardo was notorious for not completing his commissions, but this one seemed to progress, if in fits and starts.

Then, fate intervened. In 1494, the same year in which Ludovico became Duke of Milan, the French invaded and Ludovico sent all the bronze he had originally acquired for the sculpture to his father-in-law, Ferrara’s ruler Ercole d’Este, so that the latter could forge a cannon.

Despite this setback, Leonardo continued to work on the monument — until, in 1499, the French invaded Milan and demolished his clay model. A year later, Ludovico was taken prisoner, Leonardo returned to Florence and the horse was forgotten.

It only survives in its preparatory studies, some of which are pictured on this page, many of which are in the Royal Collection.

Credit: Leonardo da Vinci

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