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74 ja n ua r y/ f e b r ua r y 2 015 U n tac k e d tHE HorsE in art tence of his patron—ranging in importance from the famous painting e Last Supper to rhymes and puzzles for the ladies of the duke's court. he created plans for a flying machine, stage sets for theatrical performances, a city plan for milan and, according to the da Vinci science Center, "a defense system for the castle that the duke probably should have taken more seriously." All the while, the clay horse stood on a hilltop, suffering weather damage. en, on sept. 10, 1499, the french invaded milan. e gascon archers used the horse for target practice, while sforza's stockpile of metal went into cannons for defense. e invaders quickly conquered the city, the sfor- zas and da Vinci fled to florence, and the artist's model was reduced to nothing more than a massive mound of clay. "leonardo probably saw the original stages of destruction of his clay horse," said Joe Becherer, chief curator of the frederik meijer gardens & sculpture park. "leonardo was not one for political chaos and physical risk; milan was in chaos. i am sure he was crushed, as all accounts tell us, but there was a realist in him too. if they will do this to a major work of art, what else might they do?" it was said that on his deathbed in may of 1519, da Vinci spoke regretfully about never finishing his challenge. And so, for nearly five centuries, the piece remained "e horse at never was." until 1977, when a retired united Airlines pilot from Allentown, pa., named Charles dent changed all that. A Man With A Plan da Vinci's journals with the plans for the horse were long lost for hundreds of years, but one set, the Codex Three different sized models of the horse help illustrate the creative process by sculptor Nina Akamu. roberT eMPerley/ flICkr CreaTIVe CoMMonS PHoTo

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