Study for the Equestrian Monument to Francesco Sforza

This study for the unrealised bronze equestrian monument to the Milanese duke Francesco Sforza - one of the most ambitious sculptural monuments of the Renaissance - was made by the Florentine master Antonio Pollaiuolo, probably before the celebrated commission was awarded to Leonardo da Vinci in the mid-1480s. Renowned for his military prowess and ruthless machinations, Francesco is portrayed upon a rearing horse with its hind legs upon the ground (or pedestal) and the front of its body poised upon the figure of a trampled enemy, which provided a means of balancing the sculptural group. In addition to evoking the power and ferocity of the rider, the image of the fallen enemy also evokes ancient models such as Trajan's coinage, which portrays the emperor upon a rearing horse trampling and spearing a fallen Dacian.

This sheet (as well as its pendant, Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich) could have served as a presentation drawing for Ludovico, who may have arranged a competition between the artist and Leonardo da Vinci, who arrived at the Milanese court in the early 1480s. Leonardo, who won the commission, produced studies for the project from the early 1480s to the late 1490s, though the ill-fated monument was never completed.