Florence, 1504: a high point of the Italian Renaissance

Florence, 1504: The city's most famous artists, including Leonardo da Vinci, were part of a commission discussing the location of an almost completed work of art that was already considered one of the greatest achievements in history: Michelangelo's colossal David. The commission decided on the square in front of Palazzo Vecchio, where it remained until 1873, when it was moved to the Accademia in Florence for security reasons. As the statue was originally intended to be placed on the roof of the cathedral choir, Michelangelo made some changes to the proportions. The master then received the commission for a monumental painting to be placed in the great hall of the city council opposite Leonardo's Battle of Anghiari, which he had been working on for several months. This brought the two famous artists into direct competition. Michelangelo chose the Battle of Cascina. The designs of both works were themselves celebrated as magnificent works of art, but the frescoes were never executed.

At the same time, the 21-year-old Raphael was also in Florence, an aspiring artist who admired and emulated both Leonardo and Michelangelo. With over 40 works, the Royal Academy of Arts in London sheds light on this extraordinary encounter between the three most famous Renaissance artists: in the exhibition Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael. Florence, c. 1504 includes Michelangelo's Taddei Tondo (c. 1504-5), Leonardo's The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist (Burlington House Cartoon) (between 1499 and 1508) and Raphael's Bridgewater Madonna (1507). The remarkable show, which features some of the most fascinating drawings of the period, will be on display from November 9, 2024 to February 16, 2025.

A few years later, from 1513 to 1516, the paths of the three masters crossed again, this time in Rome. The circumstances here were completely different from 10 years earlier: Michelangelo and Raphael, bitter rivals who had been based in Rome for several years, were both in the Pope's highest favor and were working on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the frescoes in the stanzas, respectively. Leonardo arrived in Rome from Milan, summoned by the Pope's brother, and for the first time in his life met with surprisingly little interest in his person and his work. Offended, the universal genius worked mainly as an engineer before finally settling in Amboise at the invitation of the French king after just two years in the city, where he died in 1519.