Lunchtime lecture: Proximity to power – the equestrian sculpture in the Italian Renaissance
An introduction to a lesser studied, yet significant subject of the Italian Renaissance: the equestrian monument. We'll look at examples from Leonardo, Donatello and Verrocchio to explore the technical challenges introduced by the subject and how it was used to bring artistic splendour to public places while also commemorating military heroes and powerful leaders.
Learning modes and locations may be different depending on the course start date. Please check the location of your chosen course and read our guide to learning modes and locations to help you choose the right course for you.
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Centre for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
During the Renaissance sculptors revived the equestrian statue, a sculptural group that had not been made since Roman Antiquity. The significance of the few surviving antique examples, in particular the Marcus Aurelius, will be considered in relation to the rise of the equestrian in Renaissance Italy.
Often conceived as civic monuments to commemorate military heroes, Renaissance equestrian statues combined classical artistic ideas with technical feats to create large scale bronze monuments that show horses in movement, often with one foot aloft.
The examples of Donatello’s Gattamelata (1453) and Verrocchio’s Colleaoni (1480-8) monuments, made almost three decades apart, reflect the technical advances made in a few decades that allowed more complex poses to be cast in bronze. Leonardo’s designs for unrealised equestrian statues offer us an insight into his fascination with the challenge of producing a life-sized representation of this group. These objects offer an invaluable insight into the Renaissance relationship with classical sculpture and the technical processes of creating monumental sculptures that would shape public sculpture of subsequent centuries.
What will we cover?
The Renaissance revival of Classical Roman Equestrian monuments
Trace the design process of making statues
The materials and techniques employed for equestrian statues
What will I achieve? By the end of this course you should be able to...
Identify the relationship between antique examples and Renaissance equestrian statues
Understand the process of making bronze statues from designing to casting
Trace the developments of composition in relation to technical advances in bronze casting
Understand the aesthetic qualities of bronze in large scale statues and smaller statuettes
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
This course is suitable for all levels and requires no previous experience or study of the subject.
You should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations, hand-outs and health and safety information. This course takes place on Zoom. Please be familiar with or be willing to learn how to operate elements of Zoom, specifically camera, microphone and chat functions. For more on how our online learning works, please click here.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
You will be taught online with slide presentations and group discussions.
Please note: this is a live lecture course and will not be recorded for playback for reasons of copyright, digital infrastructure and data protection.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
This lecture does not provide notes for you. You might wish to purchase a notebook for taking notes. You might wish to buy some of the books on any reading list provided.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
Search 'Lunchtime Lectures' or 'Friday Lates' for more of our short, taster art history courses.
The Grand Tour: antiquity, art and cultural encounters
Art and Alliance: the visual culture of marriage in Renaissance Italy
Antique sculpture and impact on early modern sculpture
Study day: Donatello
The art of collecting in the Renaissance: the Studiolo
Representing David: a brief introduction to Florentine Renaissance Sculpture from Donatello to Michelangelo (if this still running)
Bryony Bartlett-Rawlings gained her MA and PhD at the Courtauld Institute of Art, where she specialised in early print culture. She has worked as Assistant Curator of Paintings and Drawings and Assistant Curator of Engraved Ornament at the V&A, Print Room Assistant at the Courtauld Institute and the Image Researcher for the revised edition of Taste and the Antique. She has lectured at the V&A, Courtauld Institute, and University of Buckingham, and published extensively on the graphic arts. Her co-edited volume of essays Placing Prints was published in 2025.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
product
https://www.citylit.ac.uk/lunchtime-lecture-proximity-to-power-the-equestrian-sculpture-in-the-italian-renaissance3079819Lunchtime lecture: Proximity to power – the equestrian sculpture in the Italian Renaissancehttps://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/category/Early_Modern_World-1080.jpg1919GBPInStock/Courses/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Art history/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Courses/Online courses/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Art history/Early modern world228511361177173118891228511771136<p>An introduction to a lesser studied, yet significant subject of the Italian Renaissance: the equestrian monument. We'll look at examples from Leonardo, Donatello and Verrocchio to explore the technical challenges introduced by the subject and how it was used to bring artistic splendour to public places while also commemorating military heroes and powerful leaders.</p>003079804Lunchtime lecture: Proximity to power – the equestrian sculpture in the Italian Renaissance1919https://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/category/Early_Modern_World-1080.jpgInStockDaytimeTueOnlineAvailable coursesOne-off onlyWeekday2027-02-09T00:00:00+00:00Beginners, Some experience, Advanced, Suitable for allFeb 2027Culture, history & humanitiesVB7741919Lunchtime lecture: Proximity to power – the equestrian sculpture in the Italian Renaissance151219Bryony Bartlett-Rawlingslunchtime-lecture-proximity-to-power-the-equestrian-sculpture-in-the-italian-renaissance/vb774-2627<p>An introduction to a lesser studied, yet significant subject of the Italian Renaissance: the equestrian monument. We'll look at examples from Leonardo, Donatello and Verrocchio to explore the technical challenges introduced by the subject and how it was used to bring artistic splendour to public places while also commemorating military heroes and powerful leaders.</p>0000-Available|2027-02-09 00:00:00<p>During the Renaissance sculptors revived the equestrian statue, a sculptural group that had not been made since Roman Antiquity. The significance of the few surviving antique examples, in particular the Marcus Aurelius, will be considered in relation to the rise of the equestrian in Renaissance Italy.</p><p>Often conceived as civic monuments to commemorate military heroes, Renaissance equestrian statues combined classical artistic ideas with technical feats to create large scale bronze monuments that show horses in movement, often with one foot aloft.</p><p>The examples of Donatello’s <em>Gattamelata</em> (1453) and Verrocchio’s <em>Colleaoni</em> (1480-8) monuments, made almost three decades apart, reflect the technical advances made in a few decades that allowed more complex poses to be cast in bronze. Leonardo’s designs for unrealised equestrian statues offer us an insight into his fascination with the challenge of producing a life-sized representation of this group. These objects offer an invaluable insight into the Renaissance relationship with classical sculpture and the technical processes of creating monumental sculptures that would shape public sculpture of subsequent centuries.</p><p>An introduction to a lesser studied, yet significant subject of the Italian Renaissance: the equestrian monument. We'll look at examples from Leonardo, Donatello and Verrocchio to explore the technical challenges introduced by the subject and how it was used to bring artistic splendour to public places while also commemorating military heroes and powerful leaders.</p><ul><li>The Renaissance revival of Classical Roman Equestrian monuments</li><li>Trace the design process of making statues</li><li>The materials and techniques employed for equestrian statues</li></ul><ul><li>Identify the relationship between antique examples and Renaissance equestrian statues</li><li>Understand the process of making bronze statues from designing to casting</li><li>Trace the developments of composition in relation to technical advances in bronze casting</li><li>Understand the aesthetic qualities of bronze in large scale statues and smaller statuettes</li></ul><p>This course is suitable for all levels and requires no previous experience or study of the subject.</p><p><br>You should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations, hand-outs and health and safety information. This course takes place on Zoom. Please be familiar with or be willing to learn how to operate elements of Zoom, specifically camera, microphone and chat functions. For more on how our online learning works, please <a href="https://help.citylit.ac.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/11273523970845-What-is-your-City-Lit-student-IT-account" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">click here</a>.</p><p>You will be taught online with slide presentations and group discussions.</p><p><strong>Please note</strong>: this is a live lecture course and will not be recorded for playback for reasons of copyright, digital infrastructure and data protection.</p><p>This lecture does not provide notes for you. You might wish to purchase a notebook for taking notes. You might wish to buy some of the books on any reading list provided. </p><p>Search 'Lunchtime Lectures' or 'Friday Lates' for more of our short, taster art history courses.</p><p>The Grand Tour: antiquity, art and cultural encounters</p><p>Art and Alliance: the visual culture of marriage in Renaissance Italy</p><p>Antique sculpture and impact on early modern sculpture</p><p>Study day: Donatello</p><p>The art of collecting in the Renaissance: the Studiolo </p><p>Representing David: a brief introduction to Florentine Renaissance Sculpture from Donatello to Michelangelo (if this still running)</p>Art historyEarly modern worldvirtual151912VB774NONETue09/02/2713:00 - 14:0013:0014:001 session1One-off onlyDaytimeWeekdayOnlineOnlineBryony Bartlett-RawlingsBeginners, Some experience, Advanced, Suitable for allAvailable courses2027-02-09T00:00:00+00:00Feb 2027Culture, history & humanities1919Lunchtime lecture: Proximity to power – the equestrian sculpture in the Italian Renaissancelunchtime-lecture-proximity-to-power-the-equestrian-sculpture-in-the-italian-renaissance/vb774-2627<p>An introduction to a lesser studied, yet significant subject of the Italian Renaissance: the equestrian monument. We'll look at examples from Leonardo, Donatello and Verrocchio to explore the technical challenges introduced by the subject and how it was used to bring artistic splendour to public places while also commemorating military heroes and powerful leaders.</p>0000-Available|2027-02-09 00:00:00<p>During the Renaissance sculptors revived the equestrian statue, a sculptural group that had not been made since Roman Antiquity. The significance of the few surviving antique examples, in particular the Marcus Aurelius, will be considered in relation to the rise of the equestrian in Renaissance Italy.</p><p>Often conceived as civic monuments to commemorate military heroes, Renaissance equestrian statues combined classical artistic ideas with technical feats to create large scale bronze monuments that show horses in movement, often with one foot aloft.</p><p>The examples of Donatello’s <em>Gattamelata</em> (1453) and Verrocchio’s <em>Colleaoni</em> (1480-8) monuments, made almost three decades apart, reflect the technical advances made in a few decades that allowed more complex poses to be cast in bronze. Leonardo’s designs for unrealised equestrian statues offer us an insight into his fascination with the challenge of producing a life-sized representation of this group. These objects offer an invaluable insight into the Renaissance relationship with classical sculpture and the technical processes of creating monumental sculptures that would shape public sculpture of subsequent centuries.</p><p>An introduction to a lesser studied, yet significant subject of the Italian Renaissance: the equestrian monument. We'll look at examples from Leonardo, Donatello and Verrocchio to explore the technical challenges introduced by the subject and how it was used to bring artistic splendour to public places while also commemorating military heroes and powerful leaders.</p><ul><li>The Renaissance revival of Classical Roman Equestrian monuments</li><li>Trace the design process of making statues</li><li>The materials and techniques employed for equestrian statues</li></ul><ul><li>Identify the relationship between antique examples and Renaissance equestrian statues</li><li>Understand the process of making bronze statues from designing to casting</li><li>Trace the developments of composition in relation to technical advances in bronze casting</li><li>Understand the aesthetic qualities of bronze in large scale statues and smaller statuettes</li></ul><p>This course is suitable for all levels and requires no previous experience or study of the subject.</p><p><br>You should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations, hand-outs and health and safety information. This course takes place on Zoom. Please be familiar with or be willing to learn how to operate elements of Zoom, specifically camera, microphone and chat functions. For more on how our online learning works, please <a href="https://help.citylit.ac.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/11273523970845-What-is-your-City-Lit-student-IT-account" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">click here</a>.</p><p>You will be taught online with slide presentations and group discussions.</p><p><strong>Please note</strong>: this is a live lecture course and will not be recorded for playback for reasons of copyright, digital infrastructure and data protection.</p><p>This lecture does not provide notes for you. You might wish to purchase a notebook for taking notes. You might wish to buy some of the books on any reading list provided. </p><p>Search 'Lunchtime Lectures' or 'Friday Lates' for more of our short, taster art history courses.</p><p>The Grand Tour: antiquity, art and cultural encounters</p><p>Art and Alliance: the visual culture of marriage in Renaissance Italy</p><p>Antique sculpture and impact on early modern sculpture</p><p>Study day: Donatello</p><p>The art of collecting in the Renaissance: the Studiolo </p><p>Representing David: a brief introduction to Florentine Renaissance Sculpture from Donatello to Michelangelo (if this still running)</p>Art historyEarly modern worldconfigurable
18891136Early modern worldhttps://www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/humanities/art-history/early-modern-world1/2/285/1177/1136/18891/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Art history/Early modern world
