Jesus Christ
Sculptures
We use cookies to provide you with the best possible service and a user-friendly website.
Please find our Privacy Policy on data protection and data management here
Please find more information on the cookies here
Mounted Warrior
| Artist | |
|---|---|
| Culture | Italian |
| Date | early 16th century |
| Object type | sculpture |
| Medium, technique | bronze with green patina |
| Dimensions | 28 x 24 x 15 cm |
| Inventory number | 5362 |
| Collection | Sculptures |
| On view | Museum of Fine Arts, First Floor, European Art 1250-1600, Gallery XX |
Leonardo received several major sculptural commissions, but few traces of any such works remain, other than the enthusiastic accounts of contemporaries, the master’s own notes, and his numerous excellent preparatory drawings. Two of his large equestrian monuments ended in failure: the enormous clay model for an equestrian statue of Francesco Sforza (1401–1466) in Milan was destroyed even before casting, while a monument for Gian Giacomo Trivulzio (1440/1441−1518) did not proceed beyond the planning stage.
The Budapest Horse and Rider shows an affinity with the preparatory drawings for the now destroyed Battle of Anghiari, commissioned in 1503 for the great council hall in the Palazzo della Signoria in Florence. A note by the artist on one of the drawings indicates that tiny wax figures were used to compose the complex battle scene. The model for the Budapest Horse and Rider may have been such a wax statuette, which was then enlarged and cast into bronze during the sixteenth century, possibly by one of Leonardo’s students or followers.
References
Petrovics, Elek – Meller, Simon, Ferenczy István bronzgyűjteményének kiállítása, Országos Magyar Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest, 1917, p. 11.
Balogh, Jolán, Katalog der ausländischen Bildwerke des Museums der bildenden Künste in Budapest, IV – XVIII. Jahrhundert: 1. Textband Bd. 1, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1975, 115-116., 125 (ill.), no. 145.
Szépművészeti Múzeum: Remekművek az ókortól napjainkig. 100 év, Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest, 2006, no. 41.
Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest: Masterpieces from the Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, 2006, no. 41.
The Museum of Fine Arts Budapest: guide, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, 2006, p. 139-140, no. 183.
Museum of Fine Arts: highlights from the collection, Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest, 2019, p. 128-129.
Szépművészeti Múzeum: Remekművek az ókortól a 18. század végéig, Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest, 2019, p. 128-129.
Museum of Fine Arts: Highlights from the Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, 2019, p. 128-129.
Masterpieces: Museum of Fine Arts Budapest, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, 2019, p. 64-65.
Remekművek: Szépművészeti Múzeum, Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest, 2019, p. 64-65.
Múzeumi kalauz: Vezető a Szépművészeti Múzeum régi gyűjteményeihez, Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest, 2021, p. 118-119.
Museum Guide: Old collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, 2021, p. 118-119.
This record is subject to revision due to ongoing research.
Further artworks from this collection