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1 of 253523 objects
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Galloping and kicking horses, and a foot soldier c.1503-4
Red chalk | 16.8 x 24.0 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 912340
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A sketch of a horse at full gallop, the cloak of its rider billowing in the wind; a galloping horse with its legs gathered beneath it; an outline of a horse kicking; and three studies of a foot soldier delivering a slashing blow with a sword.
Leonardo’s most ambitious painting was the Battle of Anghiari, a huge mural commissioned in 1503 by the Florentine government for the Great Council Chamber of the Palazzo della Signoria. It remained unfinished when Leonardo was called back to Milan in 1506, and was obliterated fifty years later. Here Leonardo sketches first ideas for the composition.
Text adapted from Leonardo da Vinci: A life in drawing, London, 2018Provenance
Bequeathed to Francesco Melzi; from whose heirs purchased by Pompeo Leoni, c.1582-90; Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel, by 1630; probably acquired by Charles II; Royal Collection by 1690
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Red chalk
Measurements
16.8 x 24.0 cm (sheet of paper)
Other number(s)
RL 12340Alternative title(s)
Sketches of horses and soldiers for the Battle of Anghiari
