Interesting facts leonardo da vinci biography horse

''It will be the largest equestrian statue in the world'': thus declared Leonardo da Vinci to his patron Galeazzo Maria Sforza, who commissioned the Master to create the sculpture dedicated to his ancestor, Francesco Sforza.

When Galeazzo Maria died, it was his brother Ludovico Sforza who carried on with the ambitious project, fueled by da Vinci’s genius.

But the fate of the equestrian statue was to be troubled, as the project met with various interruptions and changes, the way many of Da Vinci’s endeavours often did. Leonardo finally managed to carry out a gigantic model in clay, said to be more than 7 metres tall.

Leonardo da vinci

He now needed a huge quantity of bronze to attempt the final casting. But in the meantime the political situation had evolved for the worse. Milan was facing a French invasion and bronze was more urgently needed for guns.

All hopes of completing the work dissolved with the fall of Ludovico il Moro in 1499. Leonardo left Milan an