Ruiterstandbeeld van Bartolomeo Colleoni door Andrea del Verocchio te Venetië 1851 - 1900

This photograph captures Andrea del Verocchio’s equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni in Venice. Images of powerful leaders on horseback were common throughout Renaissance Italy, demonstrating wealth and power. Venice, a maritime republic, was ruled by merchants, and so the memorialization of military strength can be seen as serving the function of celebrating and solidifying the land power of the city. The statue has a complex institutional history. The commission was awarded to Verrocchio, a Florentine sculptor, but he died before it was completed. Another sculptor, Alessandro Leopardi, was brought in to finish the monument. The statue stands in front of the Scuola Grande di San Marco, one of the prominent scuole grandi or confraternities of Venice. To fully understand the statue's impact, art historians look to archival sources, such as letters and contracts, and also consider the socio-political context of the time. Art and its meaning are contingent on the institutions and the cultures that support its production.