“Renaissance master.” “Universal genius.”
When we hear the name Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), he can feel like someone just out of our reach.

But the real Leonardo was never a man who changed the world by talent alone.
In this episode, we trace his real figure through the lens of a single horse.

For the Duchy of Milan, Leonardo envisioned an equestrian monument more than eight meters tall, requiring seventy tons of bronze.
The horse rises on its hind legs, pressing down upon a fallen enemy—a pose far more daring than traditional equestrian designs.
And to make it possible, he devised immense equipment and countless steps.

He planned, tested, and drew—again and again.
What remains in his surviving notes is the mark of a human being who refused to stop challenging themself.

Yet this grand project, pursued for more than a decade, was halted by war.
The bronze was redirected for cannons, and the clay model was destroyed by invading French soldiers.

The reality of seeing one’s creation erased in an instant—
here, quietly, the background to Leonardo’s words “the most bestial madness” (bestialissima pazzia) begins to emerge.

Even so, the fire of his creativity did not fade.

Five centuries later, across the ocean in the United States, Charles Dent and many collaborators set out to revive “Leonardo’s Horse.”

Raffaello (1483-1520) placed Leonardo at the center of The School of Athens as the figure of Plato,
and Rubens (1577-1640) carried forward the core image of The Battle of Anghiari through his masterful copy.

Unfinished, broken, even lost—yet Leonardo’s creations continued to be passed down through the centuries.
His relentless creative spirit has ignited others, taking on new forms as it lives on.

Today, we live in an era where anyone can become a creator.
And just as Leonardo kept moving forward, we too hope to explore new possibilities in creation—together with you.

 

Images: Leonardo’s Handwritten Sketches