Michelangelo
With the completion of the "David" came another commission. In early 1504 Leonardo da Vinci had been commissioned to paint "The Battle of Anghiara" in the council chamber of the Palazzo Vecchio, depicting the battle between Florence and Milan in 1440. Michelangelo was then commissioned to paint the "Battle of Cascina". The two paintings are very different: Leonardo depicts soldiers fighting on horseback, while Michelangelo has soldiers being ambushed as they bathe in the river. Neither work was completed and both were lost forever when the chamber was refurbished. Both works were much admired, and copies remain of them, Leonardo's work having been copied by Rubens and Michelangelo's by Bastiano da Sangallo.
Vatican Splendors
At the entrance of the fourth gallery is "The Creation of Adam", a replica from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It is displayed in a walkway that contains a dome shaped roof immediately above the viewers' heads. Gazing upwards, people are placed momentarily back into Michelangelo's world when he initially painted it. "Originally commissioned to paint the Twelve Apostles against a starry sky, [Michelangelo] lobbied for a different and more complex scheme." He received his wish. Upon completion, the intricate masterpiece possessed over three hundred figures and nine stories from the Book of Genesis at its center. Michelangelo, however, is not the only master on display. "The Madonna" of Sassoferrato is also present, and although its image is present on many holiday cards, it has never been exhibited outside of Rome. Complementing this is Guercino's 1622 "Portrait of Christ with Crown of Thorns", a painting that has never been shown outside or inside the Vatican. Amidst these paintings are numerous sculptures highlighted by a life size replica "Pietà", also completed by Michelangelo at age twenty-four. The exhibit also displays Michelangelo's original architectural drawings, journal entries, and sketches.