Leonardo's Horses - Drawings for the Sforza Horse

Backed by Denny Luan
Columbia, South Carolina
BiologyEducation
$100
Raised of $2,500 Goal
4%
Ended on 5/16/14
Campaign Ended
  • $100
    pledged
  • 4%
    funded
  • Finished
    on 5/16/14

About This Project

I have proposed to review Leonardo da Vinci's drawings of horse, in which he studied their anatomy and movement, as a preparation for his monumental sculpture of the Sforza horse monument. My research will focus on Leonardo's intensive empirical observation of horses and his measurements as a basis for the sculpture.

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What is the context of this research?

Leonardo's horse project is important both in his work and in the history of monumental sculpture in Italy. Michelangelo did not create many examples of monumental sculpture in bronze and none on the scale of Leonardo's proposed monuments in Milan. The drawings document the intellectual and artistic preparation that he engaged in to prepare the project.

What is the significance of this project?

Although there is a wealth of information on Leonardo, most of it separates his work into artistic, scientific or engineering bases. My aim will be a synthesis of those as I believe Leonardo represented the authentic "Renaissance" man, integrated into a balanced whole, not fragmented by labels.

What are the goals of the project?

My goals are to prepare the paper and present it to the Symposium audience as well as preparing a paper for publication review. My proposal is an abstract for a Program on Ars. et Scientia - Animalia Symposium, Norwegian Institute in Rome, June 3-4, 2014. In my methodology, I propose to review the extant literature and investigate the sequence of the drawings to investigate the key points where Leonardo made changes or additions to his project.

Budget

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My goals include attending the conference, $1800 round trip airfare to Rome from US, hotel for three nights $1000 and meals. Additionally, research costs for books and materials total approximately $250.

Endorsed by

I look forward to seeing the results of Dr. Cyril's study of Leonardo and horses.
A long-needed synthesis of Leonardo's scientific and artistic practice.

Meet the Team

Jasmin Cyril
Jasmin Cyril

Team Bio

Dr. Jasmin W. Cyril has a Ph. D in the History of Art from
the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her M. A. also in Art History is from the University of Oregon, Eugene. For the B. A. degree, Dr. Cyril matriculated from SUNY Potsdam. Dr. Cyril's research interests include the Medieval and Renaissance or Early Modern periods of Italy and the Mediterranean basin. She has publications in the art of Ancient Rome, Medieval Italy and the Renaissance in Tuscany, primarily in Florence and Siena. Dr. Cyril has participated in four NEH Summer Seminars, three in Italy. In the photograph on this page, Dr. Cyril is standing in Piazza San Marco in Venice with the Basilica of San Marco as the backdrop. Most of her research has lately focused on women and identity. “. “Battista Sforza Montefeltro, and Her Apotheosis in the Ducal Palace at Urbino”, Proceedings of Death, Mourning and Memory Conference, October, 2006 ,.ed. Lilian Zirpolo, Woodcliff, NJ, 2006. pp. 120-21.

Lab Notes

Nothing posted yet.

Additional Information

Publications
“The Capitular Chapel of S. Niccolò in Treviso,” in The Chapels of Italy From The Twelfth to The Eighteenth Centuries: Art, Religion, Patronage, and Identity. Ed. Lilian Zirpolo, ISBN 978-0- 9785461-1-3. Dec.2010, WAPACC Text and Studies. Abstract, Avista Forum Journal, 2008, 18(1/2)105.

“Venetian Women’s Dress in the Quattrocento, Matron or Courtesan?” “Roman Freedwomen as Patrons” Journal of Mediterranean Women’s Studies-Kadin/Woman 2000 , 2004, 5(1-2):63-76. Dr. Netice Yildiz, Eastern Mediterranean University, Famagusta, Cyprus, editor. Book Review, Elaine Gazda, et. al.(Eds.) (2000) The Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii, Ancient Ritual, Modern Muse, Ann Arbor: Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, Kadin/Woman 2000, 2004, 5 (1-2)157-158.

“Battista Sforza Montefeltro, and Her Apotheosis in the Ducal Palace at Urbino”, Proceedings of Death, Mourning and Memory Conference, October, 2006. Constructions of Death, Mourning, and Memory Conference, Proceedings, WAPACC Text and Studies ,.ed. Lilian Zirpolo, Woodcliff, NJ, 2006. pp. 120-21.

"Saint Bernardino and his Thaumaturgic Activity as Healer" at the 27th Annual International Congress of Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, MI. Index of Medieval Medical Images in North America, May 1992, Vol. 6, No. 1, p. 15. Conference Papers and Presentations South Central Renaissance Conference, Omaha, NE, March 21-13, 2013.

“Sumptuary Laws and Material Elegance: Import Textiles and Sienese Painting.” A Symposium in Honor of William H. Johnson, Painter, Co-Sponsored by Visual Arts, Benedict College and Art History, University of South Carolina, April 14, 2012, USC Campus.

“William H.Johnson, Painter.” Co-organizer with Prof. Wendell H. Brown, Benedict College. Entity and Identity International Conference (ENTIDENTIC), 23-24 April 2012.

“Portraits of Bianca Cappello: True Daughter of Venice and Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Identity by Design.” South Central Renaissance Conference, New Orleans, LA, March 8-10, 2012, “Carlo Crivelli’s Madonna of the Cucumber: Sacred Image and Classical Morphology.” South Central Renaissance Conference, St. Louis University, March 3-5, 2011.

“Portraits of Bianca Cappello: True Daughter of Venice and Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Identity by Design.” 19th Annual Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Interdisciplinary Symposium, Univ. of Miami, Feb. 18-19, 2011.

“Carlo Crivelli’s Madonna of the Cucumber: Sacred Image and Classical Morphology.” Utopia Symposium, Norwegian Institute of Rome, Rome, Italy, May 6-8, 2010, “Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s Allegory of Good Government in the City, 1338-9, Sala dei Nove, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena-Paradigm of Late Medieval Urban Cohesion,”Conference organizer, Prof. Einar Petterson, University of Oslo. 45th Annual International Congress of Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, MI, May 13-16, 2010.

“The Queen of Sheba, Royal Image of Biblical Splendor,” Jewish-Christian Studies Session I, Organizer, Fr. Lawrence Frizzell, Seton Hall University. 58th South Central Renaissance Conference, Hot Springs, AR, March 2009.

“Imaging Alessandro de’ Medici in Mannerist Portraits.” 43rd Annual International Congress of Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, MI, May 2008, “Women’s Dress in Quattrocento Venice, Matron of Courtesan?” DISTAFF sessions. 42nd Annual International Congress of Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, MI, May 2007, “ The Development of Men’s Dress in the Quattrocento in Italy.” DISTAFF sessions. Death, Mourning and Memory Conference, Clifton Lake, NJ, October 27-29, 2006. “Battista Sforza Montefeltro and Her Apotheosis in the Ducal Palace at Urbino.”

Project Backers

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