The Horse that Never Was...IS!
September 10, 1999

     Nearly five hundred years after his death, thousands of people flock each year to exhibitions about Leonardo da Vinci's work or gaze with fascination upon carefully preserved notebook pages written in his personal code. The translations reveal a man whose creativity responded to a virtually limitless range of scientific and artistic challenges. Every corner of western civilization has been touched by his genius, and the "horse-that-never-was" would have assured his unparalleled reputation as a sculptor. This is the romantic story of Leonardo's unfinished horse, the resurrection of the idea by Charles Dent, and the gift of a new 24-foot bronze Horse to the people of Italy.

     During the seventeen years that followed the Duke of Sforza's initial request for the largest equine statue ever conceived, the artist also worked on The Last Supper and a series of portraits of Italian nobles. At the same time, his talent for engineering produced a city plan for Milan, new weapons designs and a defense system for the castle which the Duke probably should have taken more seriously. And if that weren't enough, the Duke expected Leonardo to create stage sets, manage gala parties and compose rhymes and puzzles for the ladies of the Court. Clearly, royal sponsorship did not always release Leonardo to pursue his artistic endeavors.
      Finally, however, a 24 foot clay model dominated the landscape in a vineyard near the castle. The horse would be cast in bronze according to a revolutionary method that was detailed in Leonardo's carefully kept notebooks. Scholar Carlo Pedretti describes this place:

That site, which is today a dense and noisy urban district, was then a pleasant expanse of open fields, dotted with trees and shrubs, or neatly kept as orchards, vineyards or citrus groves. One can well imagine the skyline of such a peaceful landscape, bathed in the yellow light of a misty morning of a September day in the Lombard plain... and see that skyline suddenly interrupted by the imposing silhouette of Leonardo's colossal clay model, standing there with the foreboding of a Trojan horse. That must have been the way the Gascon bowmen of the French troops saw it when they entered Milan...on 10 September 1499.

     And, tragically, the victorious French archers used the magnificent horse for target practice, reducing it to a mound of clay. Legend has it that Leonardo never ceased mourning his lost horse.

Charles Dent with one of his early maqeuettes of The Horse, circa 1988.

Over the centuries, many of the working sketches for the horse were lost. One set of notebooks, known as the Windsor Collection, came into the possession of the British royal family. Another collection was discovered in Madrid's Biblioteca Nacional in 1966, the now famous Codex Madrid II. Then a 1977 National Geographic article about Leonardo launched a new existence not only for Leonardo's horse, but also for Charles Dent, a retired airline pilot, artist and art collector from Fogelsville, Pennsylvania. The romantic legend with its combination of creative genius and human frailty cast its spell over Dent. It even seems appropriate that Charlie Dent spent so much of his time flying, an experience that Leonardo himself yearned for.

     Already a Leonardo admirer and a Renaissance man in his own right, Charlie Dent decided that Leonardo and Italy should have a horse - a little late to be sure, but as a gesture of appreciation from the American people for all that the Renaissance has meant to our own culture. He took up the horse's reins and remained at full gallop for the rest of his life.

      Dent presided over years of research and planning that responded to the intriguing possibilities of the view from a new angle, a shift in light or a change in position. This twentieth century evolution of the horse has been marked by a determination to accurately interpret the master's vision. There was only one Leonardo, and it is inconceivable to think of replicating Leonardo's horse exactly as it existed in his mind. The enduring goal has been to produce a sensitive, appropriate monument to Leonardo's genius and his contributions to the world in which we live today. As Charlie Dent emphasized, "It is the gesture itself which is most important."

     Thoughtful changes have reflected basic elements of other Leonardo works as well as the classical images of his time. For instance, Carlo Pedretti, a member of the Council of Scholars and a renowned Leonardo scholar, recommended that the position of the head should more closely resemble that of the late 15th century classical horse. Sculptor Nina Akamu, hired in 1996 to complete a new, final model of The Horse, studied not only Leonardo's horse sketches, but also his entire body of work, in order to correctly interpret the design.

      Charlie Dent's talent for attracting commitment to Leonardo's vision led to a long list of unsung sculptors, writers, business people, teachers and horse lovers who have contributed time, effort and funds. Determination and modern technology could not minimize the challenges that Dent and his supporters faced. It is ironic that his will, primarily a bequest to The Horse, provided the substantial sum that took the model to the foundry. However, supported by donors from all 50 states, The Horse's installation and unveiling were completed on 10 September, 1999. Many of the people who contributed were in Milan to share the excitement and celebration surrounding the unveiling.