Note 54 — Chapter V
Thomas Roscoe translation
It was intended for the equestrian statue of Francesco Sforza, father of Lodovico. The Cav. Fr. Sabba da Castiglione has mentioned in his Ricordi, No. 109, that this very ingenious model, so greatly celebrated in the annals of the arts, which cost Vinci sixteen years to complete, was seen by the writer in 1499, converted into a target for the Gascon bowmen in the service of Louis XII. when he became master of Milan.