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Review: THE ART MASTERS LEONARDO AND MICHELANGELO

Reyte on Publishing
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Leonardo Da Vinci Battle of Anghiari

Michelangelo Arno Soldiers

In a competition between Leonardo and Michelangelo, the Mayor of Florentine asked

that each of the artist paint a fresco to adorn the halls of the Town Hall.

Michelangelo decided to capture a scene from a skirmish between the Florentines and

Pisans. The Arno Soldiers is a scene where soldiers are bathing in the river. However,

they were called immediately to battle and had to hurriedly get dressed and engage the

enemy. They are shown leaving the river to get dressed and armed.

Leonardo choose a scene from the battle at Anghiari which appears to be one in which

there was very intense fighting while on horseback. Shadow and light are used to add

depth and three dimensional life to Leonardo’s Horses and Men. They appear to be in

fierce motion. Clashing together in a mad frenzy of murdering determination. In trying to

visualize each face, each body part light and shadows assist the eye. For Leonardo he

came to realize that objects are not made out of lines, but that light and shadow define

them. This method which he calls chiaroscuro is applied to his paintings bringing life to

the images (Museum of Science, 2009). He used this in his Battle of Anghiari and it adds

realism to the work rather than a flat two-dimensional quality. Leonardo also realized that
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detail could be changed by sfumato or the phrase less is more. Showing figures in the

background as smaller and less defined in comparison with figures in the foreground.

Michelangelo and Leonardo were hired to create frescos in the Town Hall of Florentine.

Michelangelo had first studied the fresco techniques with his mentor il Ghirlandaio while

a youth in Florence. His method was done by painting on a newly plastered wall that is

still in its early drying stages (Italian Frescos, 2009). The humidity of the plaster then

bonds with the paint. The painting then is also bonded to the wall as the plaster dries.

With this technique the artist has to move or paint quickly as plaster dries very rapidly.

Leonardo was more interested in showing human form as close to its natural state even

though some are in caricature. He studied science and anatomy to add realism to his

work. He also worked in the lab and dissected human bodies to learn more about how

each muscle, limb, and organ is shaped. It is said that compared to Michelangelo, his is

the more realistic and believably accurate art. Leonardo was considered the first to

examine the human body to determine the physical anatomical dimensions in form.

Michelangelo in contrast clearly used his imagination in painting the human body and

added his own interpretations to his human likenesses in his paintings. Often

exaggerating the muscle structure or length of the limbs for fascinating effect. However

in sculpture, Michelangelo too studied the sciences and created amazing lifelike

representations.
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References

ItalianFrescos.com. (2009). Michelangelo Frescos Retrieved August 8, 2009 from

http://www.italianfrescoes.com/michelangelo.asp

Museum of Science. (2009). Leonardo. Retrieved August 8, 2009 from

http://www.mos.org/leonardo/artist.html