 Uccello 's Hawkwood was completed , only to be ordered redone by the capo maestro of the Opera del Duomo , on June 28 , 1436 . Uccello was found not to have been at fault on July 6 , and paid for both his first and second versions , the latter of which was finished before August 31 . Incidentally , the second version — copied from the original , rather than direct observation — is the only true extant testimony to Hawkwood 's appearance . The demanded redesign — which was ordered soon after post @-@ Albizzi members secured a majority among the operai — is at the heart of any discussion about the political implications of the fresco . For centuries , art historians have argued that the rejection was rooted in questions of perspective and color , while more recent scholarship suggests it was the content of the fresco to which the capo maestro objected . The specific objections of the capo maestro are not documented — except that the fresco was " not painted as it should be " , but it is clear that only the portion containing the horse and rider was to be erased and redone . A preparatory drawing in the Uffizi with the same static scene is the primary clue to the appearance of the original fresco , in which Hawkwood was apparently more armored , taller , and — along with his horse — in a more militaristic stance . The Hawkwood thus both participated in and reinforced the Quattrocento trend that every Florentine public monument to a soldier of fortune employ a parade horse rather than a battle charger , in less than complete armor , and at a pace more suited for reviewing troops than charging into battle . A study which subjected the drawing to ultraviolet rays confirmed that Uccello had originally depicted Hawkwood as " more threatening " , with his baton raised and horse " at the ready " . 
