Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael: 

Florence c. 1504 

at the Royal Academy, 

9 November 2024 - 16 February 2025 

In 1504 Michelangelo finished his marble David and Leonardo took part in the discussions to decide where it should go. Later that year Raphael arrived in Florence, where his work was transformed by the work of the two feuding masters. Over four weeks we will see how this explosive combination of events and personalities is reflected in the Royal Academy’s remarkable exhibition. For each artist we will examine the works in the exhibition in depth, putting them in the context of the artist’s career as a whole. 

The main work by Leonardo in the exhibition will be the National Gallery’s Burlington Cartoon – which is effectively returning to the location from which it takes its name, and we will also consider his uncompleted battle scene – a mural of The Battle of Anghiari. We will also see that, for Leonardo, as well as being fundamental to his art, it was also an essential aspect of his ground-breaking scientific exploration. 

Following this series of talks I will introduce another monumental exhibition, Drawing the Italian Renaissance at the King's Gallery. There will be too much to talk about in one evening, so I will extract the drawings by Leonardo from the King's exhibition, and include them in this talk - thus giving us a more rounded view of the artist's achievements.