This show brings together the 3 Renaissance giants: Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael who came to work in Florence for a short period of time.
Leonardo (the eldest) and Michelangelo were both from Florence. Raphael, a much younger man, had come to learn from them as well as prove himself in what was the artistic capital at that time.
They were all in a relatively small place and keenly aware (especially Raphael) of what the others were working on.
The Taddei Tondo is the only piece of sculpture in the UK by Michelangelo and lives at the Royal Academy. Carved at about the same time as his David, it is a masterful piece of work with the poses of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus copied by Raphael amongst others.
Michelangelo Buonarroti. c 1504-05
The drawings use chalk or ink as graphite pencils hadn’t yet been invented though paper was now more readily available since the advent of printing.
