Venice

This drawing in pen and india ink represents the four bronze horses of St. Mark, which are placed at the top of St. Mark's Basilica. These horses date back to Classical Antiquity. For a long period of their history they were displayed in the Hippodrome of Constantinople. In 1204 Doge Enrico Dandolo (1107?-1205) sent the horses back to Venice as part of the look sacked from Constantinople. They were installed on the Basilica in about 1254. The installation of these horses on the relgious centre of Venice, St. Mark's, made them a symbol of the power of this city state. This sense of dominance is conveyed in the viewpoint of the drawing, looking up at the horses, who stand triumphantly raising their right front legs. The use of india ink conveys the strong contours of these sculpted forms against the ornate architectural backdrop.