LEONARDO DA VINCI 1452-1519

Giovanni Francesco RUSTICI Florence, 1474–Tours, 1554 Battle Scene: Horseman Fighting Four Foot Soldiers Terracotta, traces of bronze-coloured patina About 1503–1520 The sculptor Giovanni Francesco Rustici, a close friend of Leonardo, was inspired by the Battle of Anghiari – and the many preparatory drawings for the composition – to create a new type of terracotta group sculpture featuring a violent struggle between a horseman and foot soldiers, combining many different views and perspectives. Department of Sculptures, Musée du Louvre, Paris, RF 1535 Leonardo da VINCI Vinci, 1452–Amboise, 1519 Studies for the Battle of Anghiari and Leda Black chalk, pen and brown ink About 1503–1504 This sheet featuring a preparatory study of a rearing horse for one of the horsemen in the Battle of Anghiari also shows Leonardo’s first ideas for a new composition: Leda and the Swan. He used his componimento inculto (‘intuitive composition’)technique to explore the possibili- ties of the theme in black chalk, then clarified the resulting ideas in pen. The Royal Collection, Windsor, RL 12337, loaned by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 151 152