Anonymous 16th-century Italian artist and alterations by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), The Battle of Anghiari, After the lost original by Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519), 1603, Black chalk, pen and ink heightened with lead white, over-painted with watercolour, The Royal Academy of Arts, London, on short -term loan from the Louvre, Paris
The Battle of Anghiari was fought on 29 June 1440 near the town of Anghiari in Tuscany. It pitted the Duchy of Milan, led by the condottiero Niccolò Piccinino, against the Italian League, a coalition of states including Florence, Venice, and the Papal States. The battle arose from Milan’s attempts to expand its influence in central Italy, threatening Florence’s territorial security and trade networks. The Florentine forces decisively repelled the Milanese despite lasting only a few hours and causing minimal casualties.
To commemorate this victory, Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to create a monumental fresco in the Palazzo della Signoria, Florence’s seat of government. The work was intended to adorn the council hall alongside a counterpart by Michelangelo depicting the Battle of Cascina. Leonardo’s central scene, known as ‘The Battle of the Standard’, depicted the climactic moment of the battle—a ferocious struggle between knights and their warhorses to seize a banner.
By the mid-16th century, the original fresco had been lost, but its legacy survived through Leonardo’s preparatory sketches and a few derivative works, including a 16th-century copy by an unknown Italian artist. This copy preserved the central composition of ‘The Battle of the Standard’, capturing the essence of Leonardo’s dynamic and intricate design.
In 1603, Peter Paul Rubens, one of the founding figures of the Baroque, reworked the 16th-century artwork, transforming it into a new creation. Rubens did not replicate the original design; instead, he expanded the composition, added vibrant colour, and infused it with dramatic energy. His alterations heightened the scene’s emotional tension and physical dynamism, exaggerating the figures’ musculature and the horses’ wild motion.
