Long ago, the Duke of Milan commissioned a little known artist to erect a Mammoth statue of a horse. The time was 1481. The artist was Leonardo da Vinci. The guy on the donkey's just a guy on a donkey.
So begins
one of the funniest and most unappreciated films of the 90s. And while the movie got some of the details wrong,
the story is true, more or less:
From around 1482 to 1499, Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan [1], employed Leonardo and permitted him to operate his own workshop complete with apprentices. It was here that seventy tons of bronze that had been set aside for Leonardo's "Gran Cavallo" horse statue (see below) were cast into weapons for the Duke in an attempt to save Milan from the French under Charles VIII in 1495.
That might have been the end of the story; but instead, Frederik and Lena Meijer (heads of
Meijer, Inc.) stepped in. They donated funds to support
Nina Akamu in her project to realize da Vinci's design. The Meijers actually funded the casting of
two full-sized horse sculptures: one donated to Milan, fulfilling da Vinci's commission; and the other at the
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, located near me in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Here's a picture of da Vinci's horse, with my nieces and their friend and a whole bunch of other kids standing under it:
This is a 24-inch version of the horse, cast as a test. They have mounted it near the big horse, with a plaque that describes the project both in Roman characters and in Braille. This lets blind guests appreciate the full horse, not just the hooves and legs:
Keeping with the horse theme, this skeletal looking horse is made entirely of driftwood:
This is
Eve, one of two Rodins at the Gardens:
And this rather confused piece is
Hagar by Lithuanian sculptor Jacques Lipchitz:
There's a lot more to the Gardens, but we had a busy day, and didn't get there until late. Next visit, we'll spend more time on the indoor artwork, and on the various botanical and horticultural exhibits.
