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Could
a work of art really take 500 years to complete?
Leonardo's horse did!
Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned by the duke of Milan to create a
bronze horse.
After years of work and before the horse was cast in bronze, the
clay replica was destroyed in 1499.
Leonardo died before resuming work on the horse.
In 1977, Charles Dent vowed to build the horse and give it to Italy
as a gift from the American People.
Sculptor Nina Akamu completed Dent's dream.
On September 10, 1999, the statue was unveiled in Milan five
hundred years after the French destroyed Leonardo's horse.
About
the Author
Jean
Fritz lived the first thirteen years of her life in China with her
missionary parents.
This award-winning author brings history to life through her
biographies for children.
She equates writing to being a detective and spends much of her
time traveling to locations and researching events for her books.
Ms. Fritz attended the celebration in Italy when Leonardo's horse
was presented from the American people and called it one of her most
exciting adventures.
She and her husband, Michael, have two children and live near New
York City.
Activities
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Sculptures
are made of various materials including clay, wire, sand, pipe
cleaners, paper, and balloons.
Make a favorite animal using one of these materials.
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Leonardo
da Vinci was not only a painter, but also an inventor.
Find out more about his inventions as well as those he intended
to invent.
Design and construct an invention that would be useful today.
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Just
as Leonardo's horse was given to the people of Milan as a gift from
the American people, the people of France gave the Statue of Liberty
to the United States.
Compare each of the gifts in terms of construction materials
and size.
How were they transported, when were they presented, and where
are they located?
How is each gift different?
More,
more, more....
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Bridgman,
Roger Francis.
1,000 Inventions & Discoveries.
DK Publishing, Inc., 2002.
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Clutton-Brock,
Juliet.
Horse.
DK Publishing, Inc., 2002.
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Herbert,
Janis.
Leonardo da Vinci for Kids: His Life and Ideas: 21
Activities.
Chicago Review Press, 1998.
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My
Kingdom for a Horse: An Anthology of Poems about Horses.
Henry Holt and Company, 2001.
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Stanley,
Diane.
Leonardo da Vinci.
Morrow Junior Books, 1996.
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Venezia,
Mike.
Da Vinci.
Scholastic Library Publishing, 1989.
Websites
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