The first patrons to pit Raphael and Michelangelo directly against each other were the wealthy Florentine fabric merchant Agnolo Doni and his new young wife, Maddalena Strozzi. Soon after he came to Rome, they commissioned Raphael to paint their portraits against an idyllic Tuscan landscape.
At the same time, they commissioned Michelangelo to make what is now known as the Doni Tondo, a circular painting depicting the Holy Family in a complex, intertwining pose. The forms of the figures and the bold colour contrasts anticipate the Sistine ceiling, which he was to begin in 1508. All three paintings are now in the Uffizi, along with Raphael’s self-portrait, which he made in 1506 depicting himself in his painter’s hat and brown smock.
Essentials
Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael: Florence, c. 1504 is at the Royal Academy from November 9 to February 16 2025 (admission £19-21). A new exhibition, Drawing the Italian Renaissance, at the Queen’s Gallery (admission £19) includes works by the same artists. It runs until March 9 2025. Michelangelo and Power is at the Palazzo Vecchio until January 26 2025, with admission included with the museum entrance charge.
Nick Trend was a guest of the Portrait Firenze hotel, which has double rooms from €325 (£272) per person per night, and Il Tornabuoni, where doubles are from €200 (£168) per person per night.