"The Battle Of Anghiari"

Summary Commissioned 1503 by the Florence city government as a mural to depict an event in the city's history. Unfinished as work abandoned at the end of May 1506. Preparatory drawings dated from 1503-06. Janeway refers to "The Battle of Anghiari" in the opening scene of [79 Concerning Flight] when she admonishes Holo-Leonardo for not finishing things. Janeway: "Your beautiful painting of the Adoration, the great bronze horse in Milan, The Battle of Anghiari - unfinished, all of them. You were going to publish your notebooks. You never did. You have given up, abandoned your most important works." Janeway as Catarina, Holo-Leonardo's apprentice, reproves the Maestro who hangs his head, [79 Concernng Flight]

The Florentine city republican government commissioned Leonardo to decorate the Sala del Gran Consiglio (Grand Council Chamber) in the Florentine Palazzo Vecchio. At the same time Michelangelo, his fierce rival, was also employed to create "The Battle of Cascina". Leonardo's theme was the Florentine victory over Milan at Anghiari near Arezzo in 1434. Leonardo did not portray the historical events exactly as they occurred but instead he made a generalised picture of the battle, although the Battle for the Standard (see below) seems to have happened as historically reported. "The Battle Of Anghiari" was part of a tradition of heroic depictions of cavalry battles which went back to Antiquity. Leonardo's work differs from his predecessors, notably the battle paintings by Paolo Uccello for the Medici family who previously ruled Florence, in that the bodies of soldiers and horses are intertwined in a tight space in the bitter fight for their enemies' standards.

As with "The Last Supper" fresco, Leonardo experimented with an unusual technique, namely a type of encaustic with a binding agent containing wax which he had read about in the works of the Classical writer Pliny (probably Pliny the Elder).

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"Battle of Anghiari (Tavola Doria)", 1503-05. The panel is named after the collector Doria, who owned it until 1651. It shows the main scene of the design for the wall painting of the "Battle of Anghiari" for the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. The familiar sources from the 16th century speak of a panel showing a group of horses; it could be this very painting. The reproduction shows a copy by an unknown master. It is oil on panel, 85 x 115 cm, was located in a formerly private collection in Munich in Germany and now lost. Study of horses for "The Battle of Anghiari", 1503-04. The horses' heads have been given expressions of aggressive savagery. The comparative studies of a lion and a man helped Leonardo to understand the characteristic of the facial expressions necessary for this expression. On the right another rearing horse is seen. Traces of black and red chalk, pen and ink, wash on paper, measures 196 x 308 mm, location Royal Library, Windsor Castle, Windsor, England. Detail from "The Battle of Anghiari", 1503-05. This is the best-preserved copy of "The Battle of Anghiari", executed by an unknown artist in mid-16th century. At the sides it was made up by the famous artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) who not only created this version of it but also applied what he could learn from Leonardo to his paintings. Black chalk, pen and ink, watercolour on paper, measures 452 x 637 mm, Louvre Museum, Paris, France. Study for "The Battle of Anghiari", Sketch of Horsemen fighting, located in the British Museum, London, England.

The following is quoted from Richter, section 669, and describes the course of the Battle of Anghiari. Note the doubt that this was written by Leonardo himself but probably that he commissioned it as essential information toward his work and ended up among his papers.

On the battle of Anghiari.   Florentine   Neri di Gino Capponi   Bernardetto de' Medici   Micheletto,   Niccolo da Pisa   Conte Francesco                          Pietro Gian Paolo                          Guelfo Orsino,                          Messer Rinaldo degli                                       Albizzi Begin with the address of Niccolo Piccinino to the soldiers and the banished Florentines among whom are Messer Rinaldo degli Albizzi and other Florentines. Then let it be shown how he first mounted on horseback in armour; and the whole army came after him--40 squadrons of cavalry, and 2000 foot soldiers went with him. Very early in the morning the Patriarch went up a hill to reconnoitre the country, that is the hills, fields and the valley watered by a river; and from thence he beheld Niccolo Picinino coming from Borgo San Sepolcro with his people, and with a great dust; and perceiving them he returned to the camp of his own people and addressed them. Having spoken he prayed to God with clasped hands, when there appeared a cloud in which Saint Peter appeared and spoke to the Patriarch.--500 cavalry were sent forward by the Patriarch to hinder or check the rush of the enemy. In the foremost troop Francesco the son of Niccolo Piccinino [24] was the first to attack the bridge which was held by the Patriarch and the Florentines. Beyond the bridge to his left he sent forward some infantry to engage ours, who drove them back, among whom was their captain Micheletto [29] whose lot it was to be that day at the head of the army. Here, at this bridge there is a severe struggle; our men conquer and the enemy is repulsed. Here Guido and Astorre, his brother, the Lord of Faenza with a great number of men, re-formed and renewed the fight, and rushed upon the Florentines with such force that they recovered the bridge and pushed forward as far as the tents. But Simonetto advanced with 600 horse, and fell upon the enemy and drove them back once more from the place, and recaptured the bridge; and behind him came more men with 2000 horse soldiers. And thus for a long time they fought with varying fortune. But then the Patriarch, in order to divert the enemy, sent forward Niccolo da Pisa [44] and Napoleone Orsino, a beardless lad, followed by a great multitude of men, and then was done another great feat of arms. At the same time Niccolo Piccinino urged forward the remnant of his men, who once more made ours give way; and if it had not been that the Patriarch set himself at their head and, by his words and deeds controlled the captains, our soldiers would have taken to flight. The Patriarch had some artillery placed on the hill and with these he dispersed the enemy's infantry; and the disorder was so complete that Niccolo began to call back his son and all his men, and they took to flight towards Borgo. And then began a great slaughter of men; none escaped but the foremost of those who had fled or who hid themselves. The battle continued until sunset, when the Patriarch gave his mind to recalling his men and burying the dead, and afterwards a trophy was erected. Footnote: This passage does not seem to me to be in Leonardo's hand, though it has hitherto been generally accepted as genuine. Not only is the writing unlike his, but the spelling also is quite different. I would suggest that this passage is a description of the events of the battle drawn up for the Painter by order of the Signoria, perhaps by some historian commissioned by them, to serve as a scheme or programme of the work. The whole tenor of the style seems to me to argue in favour of this theory; and besides, it would be in no way surprising that such a document should have been preserved among Leonardo's autographs.

The following four drawings of a group of riders are studies for the Battle for the Standard in "The Battle Of Anghiari", executed in black chalk with white highlights, measuring each approximately 160 x 197 mm, and located in the Royal Library, Windsor Castle, Windsor, England.

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In the Introduction to "Studies and Sketches for Pictures and Decorations" in Richter's publication there is a long and very detailed critical assessment of the provenance of the drawings (the dubious ones I omit) together with detective work to try to position accurately certain groups of soldiers or the later inserted footmen, and a detailed whodunnit and whendunnit of copies and imitations. Of particular interest to ardent Leonardo fans is the enticing comment: "With regard, however, to one of the groups of horsemen it is possible to determine with perfect certainty not only which arrangement was preferred, but the position it occupied in the composition." I leave you to look up this full commentary in Richter if interested - see Sources.

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Leonardo intended that other groups of riders should be added to the sides of the central scene to round out the composition. He completed a small portion of the mural when he abandoned the work in 1506 and left for Milan. The rest of the unfinished painting disappeared 50 years later when the Council Chamber was redecorated. Above left: Face study for "The Battle Of Anghiari", c.1503-04, chalk drawing, 21.7 x 11.9 cm, located in Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe, Florence, Italy. Bottom left: Face study for "The Battle Of Anghiari". This appears in Richter but I find Richter's text obscure.

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