LEONARDO da Vinci
(b. 1452, Vinci, d. 1519, Cloux, near Amboise)

Study of horses for the Battle of Anghiari

1503-04
Traces of black and red chalk, pen and ink, wash on paper, 196 x 308 mm
Royal Library, Windsor

The horses' heads have been given expressions of aggressive savagery. The comparative studies of a lion and a man helped Leonardo to understand the characteristic of the facial expressions necessary for this expression. On the right another rearing horse is shown.