 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".
