Equestrian Monument of Niccolò da Tolentino [SEP] inception
Equestrian Monument of Niccolò da Tolentino
The Equestrian Monument of Niccolò da Tolentino (1456) is a fresco painting by the early-Italian Renaissance master Andrea del Castagno, housed in the Florence Cathedral, Italy. Located on the left internal wall of the church, it pairs the adjacent fresco of "Equestrian Statue of John Hawkwood" by Paolo Uccello (1436).
Description.
The work is a fresco painted in monochrome to emulate a marble statue. The condottiero, the Italian Niccolò da Tolentino is depicted riding his
Venice, the Regisole (a late antiquity work in Pavia, now lost), and the frescoes of the "Funerary Monument to Sir John Hawkwood" by Paolo Uccello and of the "Equestrian Monument of Niccolò da Tolentino" by Andrea del Castagno.
The main problem he had to face was of statics: representing the horse while moving, with a raised leg, could cause stability problems due to the excessive weight of the bronze being supported only by three relatively thin legs. Donatello, in his monument at Padua,