art1505–150650% confidence

The Battle of Anghiari

by Leonardo da Vinci

Reconstruction of The Battle of Anghiari
AI-assisted reconstruction — confidence: 50%

A mural by Leonardo da Vinci commissioned for the Salone dei Cinquecento in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence. The work depicted a pivotal moment from the 1440 Battle of Anghiari between Milan and Florence, focusing on a cavalry fight for a standard. Known through copies, most famously by Peter Paul Rubens.

Confidence Map

Each section of this reconstruction is graded by the strength of its supporting evidence. Hover over a section to learn why.

General Description

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A mural by Leonardo da Vinci commissioned for the Salone dei Cinquecento in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence. The work depicted a pivotal moment from the 1440 Battle of Anghiari between Milan and Florenc...

Based on 3 cited source(s) and overall exhibit confidence of 50%.

Historical Context

high

In 1504, the Florentine Republic commissioned Leonardo to paint one wall of the newly built Hall of the Five Hundred, while Michelangelo was to paint the opposing wall. Leonardo began painting using a...

Supported by multiple scholarly references.

Circumstances of Loss

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Likely plastered over during Giorgio Vasari's renovation of the Salone dei Cinquecento

Loss date is documented, lending credibility to the account.

High — direct evidenceMedium — reasonable inferenceSpeculative — limited evidence

The Story of Loss

Cause: Likely plastered over during Giorgio Vasari's renovation of the Salone dei Cinquecento

Circumstances: Giorgio Vasari was commissioned to redecorate the entire Salone dei Cinquecento. Whether he destroyed or carefully preserved Leonardo's work behind a false wall remains contested. A tantalising clue: Vasari painted a small green flag in his battle scene bearing the words "Cerca trova" ("Seek and you shall find").

Date of loss: c. 1563

Historical Context

In 1504, the Florentine Republic commissioned Leonardo to paint one wall of the newly built Hall of the Five Hundred, while Michelangelo was to paint the opposing wall. Leonardo began painting using an experimental encaustic technique based on a passage in Pliny the Elder, attempting to seal the pigment with heat. The technique failed catastrophically — the paint dripped and ran. Leonardo abandoned the project, having completed only the central Fight for the Standard. When Vasari remodelled the hall in the 1560s for Cosimo I de' Medici, the unfinished mural disappeared. Maurizio Seracini's 2012 investigation found evidence of a hidden wall behind Vasari's fresco, and a small probe detected organic pigments consistent with Leonardo's palette, but the project was halted due to conservation concerns.

Reconstruction Methodology

This exhibit's reconstruction was generated using AI analysis of historical records, scholarly references, and contextual evidence from the 1505–1506 period. Each section of the reconstruction is tagged with a confidence level reflecting the strength of the underlying evidence.

Vestige reconstructions are scholarly tools, not definitive claims. They represent our best understanding given available evidence and are always presented with transparent methodology.

Cited Sources

  1. 1

    Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects

    Giorgio Vasari (1550)

  2. 2

    Leonardo's Lost Painting: The Battle for The Battle of Anghiari

    Jonathan Jones (2012)

  3. 3

    The Lost Battles: Leonardo, Michelangelo, and the Artistic Duel That Defined the Renaissance

    Jonathan Jones (2010)