Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael : Florence, c. 1504

Fascinating exhibition at the Royal Academy focusing on the years in the early 16th century when these three great Renaissance artists were working in Florence.

I have done various courses and lectures which have covered this period and I was grateful that I had as I would have liked a bit more scene setting in the narrative and display. A roundup of what the two established artists, Michelangelo and Leonardo, had done before this point would have been useful as well as some more sense of what the city was like and where it was politically.

That said, to an art history geek like me, the show was a joy, focusing on a short period of time and covering some iconic projects. I liked the contrast between the mature artists and the young Raphael who was learning from looking at their works.

The first room looked at Virgin and Child works and how they were influenced by the “Taddei Tondo” owned by the RA. I liked the depth of this examination. It led into the second room which looked in some detail at the cartoon of the Virgin and Child with St Anne by Leonardo which caused a sensation in his studio and which may be the National Gallery’s Burlington House cartoon which of course, from the title, once also hung in the RA.

I loved the last room which focused on the uncompleted project for battle scenes frescos for the Pallazzo Signori by Michelangelo and Leonardo. There was a stunning range of preparatory drawings by each artist for their scenes.

Closed 16 February 2025


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