Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael: Florence, c. 1504

In January 1504, a symposium of prominent Florentine artists met to discuss where Michelangelo’s statue David – which at that point was on the verge of completion – should be housed. Michelangelo himself was present, as was Leonardo, both artists having recently returned to their home city. This exhibition at the Royal Academy in London takes that year as its starting point and goes on to explore how artists influenced each other, as well as what impact their work had on the younger Raphael, who was also in Florence around the same time (9 November–16 February 2025). The show draws parallels, for instance, between the pose of the Virgin and Child in Michelangelo’s marble Taddei Tondo (c. 1504–05) and two of Raphael’s works: the Bridgewater Madonna (c. 1507–08) and the Esterházy Madonna (c. 1508). Among the 40 or so works on display are pieces that underscore the artists’ creative process, such as preparatory drawings from Michelangelo’s Battle of Cascina and Leonardo’s Battle of Anghiari (both unfinished) and a prominent display of Leonardo’s Burlington House Cartoon (c. 1506–08), along with new research that unpicks the background behind the work. Find out more from the Royal Academy’s website.

Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary

The Virgin and Child with the Infant Saint John (The ‘Taddei Tondo’) (c. 1504–05), Michelangelo. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Limited/Royal Academy of Arts, London

The Virgin and Child with the Infant St John the Baptist (c. 1508), Raphael. Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

The Virgin and Child with St Anne and the Infant St John the Baptist (The Burlington House Cartoon) (c. 1506–08), Leonardo da Vinci. National Gallery, London

Studies of Male Heads, Helmets for Soldiers and Facial Features (c. 1504), Michelangelo. Photo: Christoph Irrgang; © Hamburger Kunsthalle/bpk