Design for the Sforza Horse

The horse was planned at about seven metres tall, larger than any equestrian bronze since antiquity. Leonardo studied real horses in the Sforza stables, measuring them part by part, and at first considered a rearing pose over a fallen enemy before settling on a walking horse.

By 1493 the clay model stood in the Corte Vecchia and was shown at a wedding celebration. He worked out a method to cast it in one piece, lying on its side in a pit. Then in November 1494, with the French invading Italy, the bronze set aside for it was sent to Ferrara to be made into cannon.

After the French took Milan in 1499, their archers are said to have used the clay model for target practice. Only the drawings remain.