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

Manuscript page on the Sforza monument

c. 1493
Pen and ink on paper, 21 x 15 cm
Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid

In the centre, the sheet (Codex Madrid I, fol. 149r,) shows, from above, the hollow for casting the Sforza monument with the horse head down. We can see the outer negative mold and channels to the furnaces through which the bronze is to be poured in. Two rectangular and two round furnaces surround the smelting hollow. The sketch of the horse seen from the side shows that it was to be cast head down.




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