Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael: Florence, c. 1504

Three Renaissance masters converge in 1504 Florence

In a single year at the turn of the 16th century, three titans of the Italian Renaissance briefly crossed paths while competing for the attention of the most powerful patrons in Republican Florence. In 1504, the city's prominent artists came together to advise on an appropriate location for Michelangelo's sculpture David. Among them was Leonardo da Vinci, who--like Michelangelo--had only recently returned to his native Florence. David was p...