The horse studied in this sheet is similar to that in RCIN 912324, with long tufts of hair at the fetlocks, though the casual pose is replaced at lower left here by a formal pacing gait, both right legs advanced. At upper left are two more dynamic poses, in metalpoint only – a rearing horse with its rider thrusting a lance (possibly related to the dragons in RCIN 912370); and the outlines of a horse struggling to regain its feet, its head twisted backwards, the first appearance of what would become a favourite motif (cf. RCIN 912331, 912336, 912570). The paper is coated with a bright orange preparation composed mainly of red lead. Melzi's number 108.

This is one of several sheets of studies that Leonardo made towards a composition of the Adoration of the Shepherds, possibly for an unfulfilled commission he received in January 1478 for an altarpiece (of unspecified subject) for the chapel of San Bernardo in the Palazzo della Signoria, Florence. All the related studies at Windsor are of animals, perhaps retained by Leonardo for future reference: even at this early stage of his career, his approach was to make a range of studies of relevant subject matter in addition to compositional sketches. See also RCIN 912324, 912308, 912362.

Text adapted from Leonardo da Vinci: A life in drawing, London, 2018