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The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci
Translated by Jean Paul Richter
1888
The notes on Sculpture.
Compared with the mass of manuscript treating of Painting, a verysmall number of passages bearing on the practice and methods ofSculpture are to be found scattered through the note books; theseare here given at the beginning of this section (Nos. 706-709).There is less cause for surprise at finding that the equestrianstatue of Francesco Sforza is only incidentally spoken of; for,although Leonardo must have worked at it for a long succession ofyears, it is not in the nature of the case that it could have givenrise to much writing. We may therefore regard it as particularlyfortunate that no fewer than thirteen notes in the master'shandwriting can be brought together, which seem to throw light onthe mysterious history of this famous work. Until now writers onLeonardo were acquainted only with the passages numbered 712, 719,720, 722 and 723.
In arranging these notes on sculpture I have given the precedence tothose which treat of the casting of the monument, not merely becausethey are the fullest, but more especially with a view toreconstructing the monument, an achievement which really almost lieswithin our reach by combining and comparing the whole of thematerials now brought to light, alike in notes and in sketches.
A good deal of the first two passages, Nos. 710 and 711, which referto this subject seems obscure and incomprehensible; still, theysupplement each other and one contributes in no small degree to thecomprehension of the other. A very interesting and instructivecommentary on these passages may be found in the fourth chapter ofVasari's Introduzione della Scultura under the title "Come si fannoi modelli per fare di bronzo le figure grandi e picciole, e come leforme per buttarle; come si armino di ferri, e come si gettino dimetallo," &c. Among the drawings of models of the moulds for castingwe find only one which seems to represent the horse in the act ofgalloping—No. 713. All the other designs show the horse as pacingquietly and as these studies of the horse are accompanied by copiousnotes as to the method of casting, the question as to the positionof the horse in the model finally selected, seems to be decided bypreponderating evidence. "Il cavallo dello Sforza"—C. Boito remarksvery appositely in the Saggio on page 26, "doveva sembrare fratelloal cavallo del Colleoni. E si direbbe che questo fosse figlio delcavallo del Gattamelata, il quale pare figlio di uno dei quattrocavalli che stavano forse sull' Arco di Nerone in Roma" (now atVenice). The publication of the Saggio also contains thereproduction of a drawing in red chalk, representing a horse walkingto the left and supported by a scaffolding, given here on Pl. LXXVI,No. 1. It must remain uncertain whether this represents the model asit stood during the preparations for casting it, or whether—asseems to me highly improbable—this sketch shows the model as it wasexhibited in 1493 on the Piazza del Castello in Milan under atriumphal arch, on the occasion of the marriage of the EmperorMaximilian to Bianca Maria Sforza. The only important point here isto prove that strong evidence seems to show that, of the numerousstudies for the equestrian statue, only those which represent thehorse pacing agree with the schemes of the final plans.
The second group of preparatory sketches, representing the horse asgalloping, must therefore be considered separ