Attributed to Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci, 1452 - 1519, Amboise)
Studies of Figures and Horses, about 1481 (with later overdrawing)
Pen and brown ink and wash over leadpoint on paper, 15.5 x 20.3 cm (6 1/8 x 8 in.)
This small, squarish, heavily stained and discolored piece of 15th Century paper is covered with pen drawings of figures and horses. The figures are darkly outlined but they are largely undetailed -- except for light back and forth diagonal lines indicating shadows, depth, or motion. The figures are mostly grouped; although, there is a solitary bearded man in a hooded monk’s robe in the lower left corner. He is shown in semi-profile, facing to the right. His head is bent slightly downward with his arms crossed at his chest. His ankle length robe reveals the outline of a knee in mid stride and he carries a sack from his shoulders. A sketch slightly above and to the right of the bearded figure show naked figures astride horses. It shows otherworldly looking figures with small compact bodies and sharp talons. They have human looking faces but the ears on their bald heads point sideways and are shaped like horse ears. They ride realistically rendered horses but the artist has given one horse a pair of heads: one extends straight from its body and another one is turned to the right. A small naked figure below holds this horse’s head from its mouth. The figure twists its head and body to look in the same direction as the horse. Below this a naked woman bends at her waist and looks at the ground, her left arm bent at the elbow as she holds back her long hair from her forehead. There is a separate group of three human figures to the right of the bent woman. A seated woman with bent knees and a twisted body holds out a chubby baby with flailing limbs. Another figure on her knees, holds the baby’s left foot with both hands and kisses it. To the right of this scene, a girl struggles to hold on her lap a large, chubby baby. Above that pair, a realistic horse moves towards the viewer carrying two human riders. Another human figure stands just to the right of the horse and grabs the forward rider. The female rider in the rear holds onto the chest of the forward rider and looks over his shoulder at the horse’s head.
Short Gallery
Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.