Cavallo in corvetta. Bronzo fuso, cesellato e patinato. Fonditore rinascimentale toscano, XVI secolo

The vigorous figure, inspired by the paradigms of classical antiquity and characterised by an induced patina of archaeological taste, belongs to the production of horses in rampant pose in Renaissance taste that can be placed between the 16th and 17th centuries, deriving from Leonardo da Vinci's models. For many of these works, as Luca Siracusano explains in the critical file describing the work, "[...] in the last century the name of Giovan Francesco Rustici (Florence 1475 - Tours 1554), author of the famous brawls in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello and the Musee do Louvre, or of a sculptor likewise active in France, such as Lorenzo Naldini [....]" and continues "Our horse has a mane cut very short, combed into a tuft above the forehead and left to fall freely near the withers. Perhaps Leonardo's suggestion is mixed here with certain memories of antiquity, deduced from works such as the Hellenistic horse in the National Archaeological Museum of Florence [...]" and concludes as follows: "[...] Our horse, on the other hand, by virtue of its mane, has a very short mane.Our exemplar, on the other hand, by virtue of the rough character of the casting, almost without reworking, seems to refer to a more archaic culture, still of the 16th century [...]", W. 19 - D. 7 - H. 24 cm, CFR: "Die Italienischen Bronzestatuetten der Renaissance" Wilhelm Bode, Berlin 1922; "Donatello e il suo tempo. Il bronzetto a Padova nel quattrocento e nel cinquecento" ed. Skira, Padova 2001.