The Battle of Anghiari by Leonardo da Vinci



       The Battle of Anghiari is an original and unfinished work by Leonardo da Vinci, an Italian painter, inventor, and writer who live from 1452 to 1519 (Leonardo da Vinci).  Known for his works Mona Lisa and The Last Super, he is considered possibly “one of the greatest painters of all time (Leonardo da Vinci),” and also, “perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived (Leonardo da Vinci),” due to his work in the sciences in mathematics, anatomy of humans and animals, and through his innovative engineering and inventions which have significantly influenced modern-day devices (Leonardo da Vinci).  The Battle of Anghiari was commissioned in Florence, Italy in 1503 (The Battle of Anghiari (painting)), presented in The Hall of Five Hundred, displaying the Battle of Anghiari, which was a war set in Tuscany, Italy that took place on June 29, 1440 (Battle of Anghiari (1440)) between the Milan and Italian League (Leonardo da Vinci).  Unfortunately, Leonardo encountered technical difficulties while attempting to apply oil paints to the wall, and soon abandoned the project, leaving it incomplete (The Battle of Anghiari (copy after Leonardo)).  The most evidence found of this piece of artwork can be found in three preliminary sketches and unfinished mural painting (Battle of Anghiari (1440)).  The most famous reproduction of this painting was done by Peter Paul Rubens and can be found exhibited in the Louvre in Paris (Leonardo da Vinci).

     The initial intention for this painting was to be a gigantic oil mural painting. It was to depict the violent clash of combating cavalrymen, providing a scene of complete confusion and disorder, a gripping scene of violence.  With vivid exasperated expressions of raging hatred, we witness the fierce collision and intertwining bodies of the men and horses, viciously struggling for control and dominance. Although never completed, it has been established that Ruben’s copy has most succeeded in miraculously preserving the “portrayal of fury, the intense emotions, and the sense of power (Leonardo da Vinci)” that was most likely initially present in Leonardo’s original.

     This specific piece of artwork relates to the theme of the destruction of war through history in the way that it so perfectly exemplifies man’s evils during war and the absolute mayhem that occur through the fight for dominance and its resulting acts of extreme violence and animosity.