Florence 1504: Three Artists, One Civic Commission

Florence commissioned Leonardo’s Battle of Anghiari and Michelangelo’s Battle of Cascina for the great council hall in Palazzo Vecchio. Both projects are known through preparatory work rather than completed surviving murals. According to Vasari, the young Raphael came to Florence in 1504 to see the artists’ cartoons. This is the civic site that links the two commissions; Raphael’s encounter with their work is a historical account, not proof that all three met here.