LEONARDO da Vinci
(b. 1452, Vinci, d. 1519, Cloux, near Amboise)

The Battle of Anghiari (copy of a detail)

1503-05
Drawing
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Both Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were commissioned to paint battle scenes in the Salone dei Cinquecento of the Palazzo Signoria in Florence. Leonardo gained a reputation for not finishing his projects, together with the Adoration and the mighty equestrian statue for the Duke of Milan, the fresco of the Battle of Anghiari is another example of a project not brought to completion. He likely did little more than sketch the design on the wall of the room. In preparation, however, he produced an elaborate cartoon, now lost, of which numerous copies were made by other artists.