Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, who is the greatest Italian artist? | Yihai Shizhen

What would happen when two top art masters, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, met on a narrow road? What kind of works would they produce? Who is the greatest Italian artist?

Written by | Zhang Yi

1

Talking about the lost mural of Leonardo da Vinci, The Battle of Anghiari, copied by Rubens

The Louvre Museum in Paris houses a partial sketch of Leonardo da Vinci's unfinished mural "Battle of Anghiari" (Figure 1), which was copied by Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) in around 1603. When making this sketch, Leonardo da Vinci's (1452-1519) original work had been completely destroyed because he was painting a new mural for painter Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) in the Salone dei Cinquecento (Palazzo Vecchio, Figure 1a) in the Old Palace around 1560. Rubens may have referred to the print of Lorenzo Zacchia (1524-1587) (Figure 1b). Comparing the two paintings in Figure 1 and Figure 1b, we can easily see that Rubens undoubtedly added his own understanding and re-created it when copying; but it is worth noting that we can see the embryo of Baroque style in both Zakia and Rubens' works, which should come from Leonardo da Vinci's own paintings. It is also worth pointing out that Leonardo da Vinci's design inspiration for this war scene is likely to come from the relief on the Roman sarcophagus found in the Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara coeli on the top of Capitoline Hill in Rome around 1500 (Figure 1c).

Figure 1. Rubens, Battle of the Banner, sketch, drawn around 1603, 45.3 cm high, 63.6 cm wide, now on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 1a. The Hall of 500 in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 1b. Lorenzo Zaccia, The Battle of Anghiari, copperplate engraving, painted in 1558 based on a partial painting of Leonardo da Vinci’s mural, 37.4 cm high, 47 cm wide, Albertina Museum, Vienna | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 1c. Roman sarcophagus relief, Feiton falling from heaven, marble, made around 150-170 AD, 62 cm high, 220 cm wide, Uffizi Museum, Florence | Image source: Wikipedia

In this article, we will briefly introduce Leonardo da Vinci's failed attempt to create The Battle of Anghiari, his competition with Michelangelo in the Hall of 500, and explore why both of them ultimately failed to complete the painting.

2

Leonardo da Vinci accepts commission from the Florentine Republic

Around October 1503, Leonardo da Vinci accepted an important commission from the Florentine Signory to paint a large mural, The Battle of Anghiari, in the most important 500-seat Great Council Hall in the Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of the then city-state republic. The battle depicted in the painting took place on June 29, 1440, between Florence and Milan, and the victorious Florence gained control over central Italy.

In order to prepare cartoon drawings for large murals, Leonardo da Vinci obtained a place in the Santa Maria Novella church in the city. In the church, there are a series of murals painted by Leonardo da Vinci's former classmate Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449-1494) (see Figures 2 and 2a). Although they are biblical in content, most of the characters in the paintings are portraits of Florentine celebrities in the mid-to-late 15th century. These works are actually the most beautiful memories of Florence's golden age: elegant and luxurious life and the prosperity of humanistic thought.

Figure 2. Domenico Ghirlandaio, The Visitation, fresco, created between 1486 and 1490, 450 cm wide, now on display in the Tornabuoni Chapel of Santa Maria Novella | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 2a. Domenico Ghirlandaio, "Annunciation to Zachariah", fresco, created between 1486 and 1490, 450 cm wide, now on display in the Tornabuoni Chapel of Santa Maria Novella | Image source: Wikipedia

The reason why the Signory gave Leonardo da Vinci a place in the Church of Santa Maria Novella to draw cartoons was probably that they hoped that Leonardo da Vinci would paint a magnificent and elegant large-scale mural: the shining armor and weapons held by the victorious soldiers, plus the flags flying in the team should increase the visual luxury of the picture. Although it depicts war, it should be highly decorative; and it should be able to show the positive image of the Florentine Republic in the early sixteenth century, although it is difficult to say that the republican government at that time had any advantages in the military and geopolitical struggles within Italy. This can be confirmed from The Prince written by Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (1469-1527). Sometimes, perhaps a country's regime lacks something and hopes to use propaganda to make its people believe that it has something. The Florentine Republic government in the early sixteenth century was no exception.

In order to help Leonardo da Vinci paint this mural, the Florentine Republic government sent Machiavelli, who was then the Secretary of State, to explain this period of history to the painter. Machiavelli, as the founder of political science, is also a recognized Florentine historian. From the preserved records of the conversation between the two, it can be seen that the Florentine ruling group hoped that Leonardo da Vinci would paint a political propaganda painting to promote the achievements of the Republic. It should also be a passionate, luxurious and bright mural; because the war took place on June 29, which is a festival named after the Catholic saint Saint Peter, the saint should appear in the sky to help the Florentine army win.

Leonardo da Vinci had completely different ideas from the Signory. He wanted to show the cruelty and chaos of war, as well as the wild limbs and distorted facial expressions of the soldiers fighting each other, as shown in Figures 3, 3a and 3b. For Leonardo da Vinci, who was in his 50s, he had served for a long time under the command of the once powerful mercenary captains (Condottiero), such as the Moor Ludovico Sforza (1452-1508) and the Duke of Valentino César Borja (1476?-1507). Therefore, he personally experienced the disaster brought about by the French army's invasion of Italy. The war in Italy should have left him with an indelible impression. It might be quite difficult for him to use his brush to sing the praises of war and present it to the world in an elegant and gorgeous style, right?

Figure 3. Leonardo da Vinci, Battle of Cavalry and Battle of Infantry, sketch, drawn in 1503-1504, 14.5 cm high, 15.2 cm wide, now in the collection of the Academy Gallery in Venice, Italy | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 3a. Leonardo da Vinci, sketch of "Battle of Anghiari", drawn between 1503 and 1504, now in the Uffizi Museum. Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 3b. Leonardo da Vinci, two warrior heads painted for the mural "Battle of Anghiari", sketch, painted from 1504 to 1505, 19.1 cm high and 18.8 cm wide, now collected in the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts, Hungary | Image source: Wikipedia

Although Leonardo da Vinci was a famous painter, according to the rules at that time, the content and form of the painting should be determined by the orderer and sponsor of the painting. For the unruly Leonardo da Vinci, some people in the ruling group and related government personnel must be quite dissatisfied with him, and this dissatisfaction would be expressed in daily work and even in their attitude towards Leonardo da Vinci; and this dispute would definitely accumulate dissatisfaction with the other party in the hearts of both parties. It is likely that reconciling the ideas of the two parties would take a lot of effort for both parties, which is quite different from Leonardo da Vinci's ability to create "The Last Supper" almost completely according to his own ideas when he was in Milan.

From a purely artistic perspective, I personally think that the idea of ​​the Signory is more correct. After all, the Hall of 500 in the Palazzo Vecchio was not a museum at the time. It was a place where the political elites of the Florentine Republic and the elected representatives met to discuss public affairs. A good decorative propaganda painting can inspire people's determination to be loyal and brave to serve the country. After all, few people are willing to always have to look at a bloody war scene composed of a group of hideous and distorted people to discuss state affairs during meetings.

In early summer of 1504, Leonardo da Vinci completed a full-scale cartoon sketch of The Battle of Anghiari. After completing the actual work of scaffolding and walls for painting, he pasted the cartoon on the wall of the Hall of 500 in December. It seemed that everything was going well, and Leonardo da Vinci could finally start painting the murals themselves on the walls of the hall.

3

The Rivalry Between Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo

3.1. Michelangelo was invited to paint the large mural "Battle of Cascina" in the Hall of 500

Something even more exciting happened for the Florentine public. In the summer of 1504, the Signory commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Battle of Cascina on the opposite wall of the Salle dei 500 to Leonardo’s fresco. This depicted another important victory in Florence’s history, when the Florentine army defeated the then very powerful army of the Republic of Pisa near Cascina on July 28, 1364. It was undoubtedly a huge and sensational event for the Florentine public to arrange for the two giants of Florence in the Renaissance to compete on the same field, and to give the public the opportunity to compare and comment on their paintings after the work was completed.

Painting and competing with the young and energetic Michelangelo in the same hall was not a good thing for Leonardo da Vinci, who was in his 50s. Although the decision of the Florentine ruling group seemed exciting, it was probably unwise, especially for Leonardo da Vinci, who might not be willing to face Michelangelo's challenge in such a face-to-face manner, not to mention that Leonardo da Vinci was not consulted about this competition.

Michelangelo depicted the scene at the beginning of the war: due to the hot weather, the Florentine soldiers were bathing naked in the Arno River, and the Pisan army was launching a surprise attack on the Florentine army. The warning horn sounded, and the bathing soldiers went ashore to fight. In the lower middle part of the painting, we can see that a soldier has been hit and fell into the river, with only his hands still above the water; some of the other soldiers are putting on clothes and armor, while others have already joined the battle naked. Such a scene is obviously very suitable for Michelangelo to show his expertise, showing various tense male nudes.

Michelangelo completed the full-size cartoon for the mural in February 1505, for which the Florentine Signory paid. This cartoon served as a model for the younger generation of Florentine painters to learn Michelangelo's painting art for a long time, but it was later destroyed and lost. Only a monochrome oil painting copied from the middle part of the cartoon by Bastiano da Sangallo (1481-1551) and some sketches drawn by Michelangelo himself have been passed down (Figures 4, 4a and 4b).

Figure 4. Bastiano da Sangaro, The Battle of Cascina (partially based on a painting by Michelangelo), monochrome oil painting on wood, painted around 1542, 77 cm high and 130 cm wide, now on display at Holkham Hall, Norfolk, England | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 4a. Michelangelo, human figure study for The Battle of Cascina, sketch, drawn between 1503 and 1504, 40.9 cm, 28.5 cm, now in the Casa Michelangelo Museum in Florence | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 4b. Michelangelo, human figure study for The Battle of Cascina, sketch, drawn around 1504, 42 cm, 28.5 cm, now in the British Museum | Image source: Wikipedia

To some extent, Michelangelo's painting can be said to be a continuation of the relief "The Battle of the Lapis" made in his youth (Figure 4c). When I first saw the Battle of Cascina copied by Sangallo, I felt that the whole picture was somewhat like the relief on the ancient Roman sarcophagus, but it also incorporated the styles of the works of the Renaissance Florentine predecessors such as Bertoldo di Giovanni (1420-1491) and Antonio del Pollaiuollo (ca. 1431-1498).

Figure 4c. Michelangelo, The Battle of Tao and the Lapiths, marble high relief, 84.5 cm high, 90.5 cm wide, made around 1492, now on display in the Casa Michelangelo Museum in Florence, Italy, | Image source: Wikipedia

Leonardo da Vinci was critical of the masculine and strong male nudes shown in Michelangelo's sculptures and paintings. He once privately criticized the muscular human bodies created by Michelangelo as "a bag of walnuts." However, compared with the horses painted by Leonardo da Vinci, the Florentines, who were deeply influenced by humanistic ideas, obviously preferred Michelangelo's male nudes. The sensitive Leonardo da Vinci should have sensed the public's tendency. He tried to learn the human bodies in Michelangelo's works of art in private (Figure 5), but drawing strong human bodies was not Leonardo da Vinci's strong point after all, and he could not perfectly and quickly integrate his learning results into his own paintings.

Figure 5. Leonardo da Vinci, human figure study for The Battle of Anghiari, sketch, drawn around 1504-1506, height 16.1 cm, width 15.3 cm, British Royal Collection | Image source: Wikipedia

3.2. The competition between Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo in Florence in the early sixteenth century

In order to better understand Leonardo da Vinci's feelings when he painted "The Battle of Anghiari" and his ultimate failure, it is necessary for us to briefly introduce the competition between Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, who are now considered to be the two greatest geniuses produced by Florence in the Renaissance.

In early 1500, Leonardo da Vinci returned to Florence to compete for the project of sculpting David from a huge piece of high-quality white marble owned by the city's cathedral management committee. However, after careful consideration, the committee finally decided in July 1501 to hand the marble to Michelangelo, a young sculptor who had just created the Pietà in Rome. Michelangelo lived up to expectations and used it to carve one of the greatest works of art not only in the Renaissance but also in human history.

When David was nearly finished, all Florentines who had seen the work realized its greatness and regarded it as a symbol of the republican spirit of Florence. The ruling group of the Republic organized a committee of 30 elites to discuss the location of the David sculpture, including Leonardo da Vinci. Most of them advocated placing David at the main entrance of the Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of the then Republican government; but Leonardo da Vinci advocated placing it inside the Loggia Dei Lanzi on the southwest side of the front of the Palazzo Vecchio (see Figure 6). The building on the far left in the picture is the Palazzo Vecchio, and the building in the middle is the Loggia Dei Lanzi. It is worth noting that the David sculpture itself is more than 5 meters high. Placing it in the loggia will not only weaken its artistic tension, but also reduce the public's attention to it. Leonardo da Vinci's proposal is obviously a somewhat malicious suggestion.

Figure 6. Giuseppe Zocchi, "Piazza Vecchio, Florence", oil on canvas, first half of the 18th century, height 57 cm, width 87 cm, private collection | Image source: Wikipedia

Florence during the Renaissance was a small city with various connections among the elites within the city. It was probably difficult for Leonardo da Vinci's idea not to eventually reach Michelangelo's ears, so the young and somewhat aggressive sculptor finally publicly humiliated Leonardo da Vinci for his failure to cast a bronze equestrian statue in Milan near Piazza Santa Trinita in the city.

3.3. The end of competition

Since 1503, when Leonardo da Vinci accepted the commission from the Signory, he may have started to have disputes with the Signory in various aspects, which undoubtedly consumed a lot of his energy; due to the constant advance payment of large amounts of painting expenses and slow progress, some people in the Signory had long been dissatisfied with and suspicious of Leonardo da Vinci. Finally, at some point in 1505, Leonardo da Vinci broke out in conflict with the Signory under certain pressure. Although the work continued later, it is difficult for people to know Leonardo da Vinci's psychological changes. On Friday, June 6, 1505, at about 9:30 in the morning, a huge storm suddenly broke out. Perhaps because the windows of the hall were not closed properly, the wind and rain blowing into the hall damaged the huge cartoon picture stuck on the wall and made it slide down completely.

After this incident, Leonardo probably never really continued to work on the Battle of Anghiari. In fact, in May 1506, the Signory had reluctantly agreed to let Leonardo go to Milan to spend three months dealing with the lawsuit caused by the painting of the Virgin of the Rocks. We don't know the exact time Leonardo left Florence for Milan, but we know that he did not return on time and took on new projects there under the protection of the French who occupied Milan.

In a letter written on October 9, 1506, Piero Soderini (1451-1522), the lifelong governor of Florence, wrote to Charles II d'Amboise, Seigneur de Chaumont (1473-1511), the French governor of Milan, angrily condemned Leonardo da Vinci's behavior in the process of painting "The Battle of Anghiari", saying that "Leonardo da Vinci lacked due loyalty to his republic. He advanced a large amount of money but did only little work at the beginning." Not only that, he also announced on behalf of the Florentine government that Michelangelo was the greatest artist in Italy (and even the world).

However, it seems somewhat ironic today that Michelangelo did not complete the mural "Battle of Cascina" in the end. In February 1505, Michelangelo was urgently summoned to Rome by Pope Julius II (Pope Julius II, 1443-1513, reigned from 1503 to 1513), and the work of painting this painting was interrupted. With the changes in the political situation in Florence and even Italy, the work was not continued.

For the rulers of Florence, the competition between Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo was actually a failure. Neither of the two great artists completed their works, and the entire project was completely unfinished. The reason for this can be largely attributed to Soderini's own lack of ability. Although he was the highest administrative chief of Florence, he was actually just a bureaucrat who rose within the Florentine Republic system. He might appreciate the talents of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, but he did not really understand and was completely unable to control these two top geniuses of mankind; arranging the two to paint murals on opposite walls in the same hall, although it excited the hearts of the people of Florence, did not take into account the inner feelings of the two. Let us give an example of successful competition that happened later. From 1508 to 1512, Pope Julius II arranged for Michelangelo and Raphael to paint large murals at the same time in two different places in the Vatican, only about 100 meters apart. Although both of them were aware of the competitive relationship between each other, they did not have to face each other all day. This competition resulted in Michelangelo's Sistine ceiling painting and Raphael's series of murals represented by "The School of Athens", pushing Renaissance painting art to its highest peak. Julius II was obviously a very capable leader. He could inspire the competition between the two and at the same time bring out the talents of the two great men to the extreme, creating the greatest works in the history of human painting art.

4

Conclusion

If Leonardo da Vinci completely failed in his competition with Michelangelo in public projects in Florence, he had both successes and failures in private customization.

Around 1503, when Michelangelo was working on David, Leonardo da Vinci received a private commission to paint a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo (1479-1542), a Florentine noblewoman. He spent several years on the painting, which was basically completed between 1503 and 1506. However, he kept it with him and kept revising it until 1517, when he finally finished what became known as the Mona Lisa. This work is not only Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, but also a famous portrait of the Renaissance. The reason why it is so eye-catching is undoubtedly that it is a creative and extremely elegant masterpiece; but in my opinion, it is also hyped to a certain extent, especially from the late 20th century to the present.

Figure 7. Leonardo da Vinci, "Mona Lisa", oil painting on wood, painted between 1503 and 1517, 77 cm high and 53 cm wide, now on display at the Louvre Museum | Image source: Wikipedia

The Mona Lisa is undoubtedly a portrait that Leonardo da Vinci successfully painted and completed, but during this period, Leonardo da Vinci also had a regrettable failure in the field of private customization. Between 1499 and 1500, due to the failure of his Milanese master, the Moor Ludovico Sforza, Leonardo da Vinci went to Mantua. He was warmly received by the city's hostess, the Marchioness Isabella d'Este (1474-1539), and agreed to paint a portrait of this great female politician and art collector of the Renaissance. This work has never been completed, and only the sketch prepared for the portrait has been passed down (Figure 7a). This sketch, which is now collected in the Louvre, is severely damaged and it is difficult to truly show Leonardo da Vinci's artistic talent.

Figure 7a. Leonardo da Vinci, "Portrait of Isabella d'Este", sketch, about 1500, height 61 cm, width 46.5 cm, now collected in the Louvre Museum | Image source: Wikipedia

After returning to Florence in 1500, Leonardo da Vinci exhibited a cartoon sketch he had made during this period to the public in the city (Figure 8), which caused quite a stir. Among those who viewed the cartoon was probably Michelangelo. In any case, the latter was clearly influenced by it, as can be seen in several works created by Michelangelo in the following years, such as Figures 9 and 10.

Figure 8. Leonardo da Vinci, Madonna and Child with St. Anne and St. John the Baptist, cartoon design sketch, completed around 1500, 141.5 cm high, 104.6 cm wide, now on display at the National Gallery in London | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 9. Michelangelo, Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist, marble relief, made around 1504-1505, diameter 106.8 cm, now on display at the Royal Academy of Arts in London | Image source: Wikipedia

Figure 10. Michelangelo, "The Holy Family with St. John", tempera and oil on wood, painted between 1504 and 1506, 120 cm in diameter, now on display at the Uffizi Museum in Florence, Italy | Image source: Wikipedia

It is worth mentioning that the so-called cartoon sketch is the final version of the same-size accurate sketch prepared by the painter for drawing a large painting (such as a mural or altar painting, etc.). It was not considered a finished work of art at the time. Except for the fact that artists would collect cartoon sketches of other masters in order to train their students, it had no collection value. It was decades later that art patrons or collectors considered cartoon sketches to have collection value. Therefore, no matter how much of a sensation Leonardo da Vinci's cartoon caused, people at the time still hoped that he could finally complete it into a colored painting.

Leonardo da Vinci was probably living in Rome while serving Pope Leo X (1475-1521) when he painted the work shown in Figure 11. He was obviously inspired by the many seated decorative nude figures (Ignudi) in the ceiling painting of Genesis painted by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican at that time; and another source of inspiration for the seated statue of Bacchus should be the various seated sculptures of ancient Roman figures. Although Leonardo da Vinci was a painter full of creativity, he was also a painter of the Renaissance, and still followed the creative method of imitation and transcendence of Florence in the Renaissance; on the other hand, Leonardo da Vinci, who was already in his sixties, was still trying to learn and surpass Michelangelo, and even the great artists of ancient Rome, which shows that his ambition was still there and he still hoped to make new breakthroughs in artistic creation. As for whether this painting of Bacchus surpassed the nude seated figures in Michelangelo's Genesis, the author still asks readers to make their own judgments.

Figure 11. Leonardo da Vinci, Bacchus (also known as John the Baptist), oil painting, painted between 1510 and 1515, 177 cm high and 115 cm wide, now on display at the Louvre Museum | Image source: Wikipedia

About the Author

Zhang Yi is an art historian, consultant to the Clock and Ancient Musical Instruments Department of the Hermitage Museum in Russia, consultant to the French Pendulum Clock Gallery, consultant to the Guangdong Clock Collection Research Professional Committee, and also a mathematician and logician.

This article is supported by the Science Popularization China Starry Sky Project

Produced by: China Association for Science and Technology Department of Science Popularization

Producer: China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.

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