If you are in Milan or will be visiting, you should stop by the picturesque and peaceful surroundings of Milan’s San Siro park. In this park, upon a huge slab, you will find Leonardo’s Horse, a magnificent statue! It can be seen every day, free of charge, from 9.30 to 18.30.
There is a very interesting story about the horse, that dates back about 500 years. It goes something like this… in 1482 the Duke of Milan, Ludovico il Moro asked Leonardo to build the largest equestrian statue in the world, a monument to his father Francesco. For the next 16 years, Leonardo worked on and off on a model of a horse that would be bigger then a house when completed. At the same time, he was painting the The Last Supper and a series of portraits of Italian nobles, among many other things he was involved in. However, he was able to finally produce a 24 foot clay model of the horse. But on September 10, 1499, Milan was invaded, and the horse was destroyed before Leonardo had a chance to cast the horse in bronze. Legend has it that Leonardo never ceased mourning his lost horse.
Leonardo and his Horse
Fast Forward: 1977…. A man named Charlie Dent, a retired airline pilot, artist and art collector, heard the story of Leonardo’s Horse. He decided to create a horse, similar to Leonardo’s and give it to Italy as a gift from America. His goal was to produce a sensitive, appropriate monument to Leonardo’s genius and his contributions to the world. Charlie had a knack for getting people involved in the project. He was able to get a lot of people, unsung sculptors, writers, business people, teachers and horse lovers, to contributed time, effort and funds towards the project, which he worked on, right up to his death. Charlie died on Christmas morning, 1994, before the actual project was completed. A few nights before he passed away, family and friends assured him they would continue to work on the project and they did!
In 1996, sculptor Nina Akamu, was hired to complete a new, final model of The Horse. She studied not only Leonardo’s horse sketches, but also his entire body of work, in order to correctly interpret the design. On September 10, 1999, the horse was unveiled in Milan. ( 500 years from the date, the original was destroyed!)
Jean Fitz has written a wonderful kids book titled:Leonardo’s Horse. Amazon or Barnes and Noble usually have it in stock. Read it with your child before the trip. It is a very interesting story.
- Leonardo’s Horse – Watercolor and Ink by Karyn Taglia
