The Battle of Anghiari (Leonardo da Vinci)
In 1504 Leonardo da Vinci was given the commission by gonfaloniere Piero Soderini, a contract signed by Niccolò Machiavelli, to decorate the Hall of Five Hundred. At the same time his rival Michelangelo, who had just finished his "David", was designated the opposite wall. This was the only time that Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo worked together on the same project. The painting of Michelangelo depicted an episode from the Battle of Cascina, when a group of bathing soldiers was surprised by the enemy. However Michelangelo did not stay in Florence long enough to complete the project. He was able to finish his cartoon, but only began the painting. He was invited back to Rome in 1505 by the newly appointed Pope Julius II and was commissioned to build the Pope's tomb.
Michelangelo Anselmi
He arrived in Parma around 1515. There, he pained frescoes including several decorations in San Giovanni Evangelista, and an altarpiece for the Duomo. In about 1530, he painted "Madonna with Saint Sebastian and Saint Roch" (now in the National Gallery at Parma). He painted a "Baptism of Christ" for the Church of San Prospero in Reggio Emilia. Together with his contemporary Rondani he painted a narrative fresco series on the "Life of the Virgin" for the "Oratorio della Concezione" in Parma. Anselmi also painted "Holy Family with Saint Barbara" (c. 1540; now in the National Gallery of Parma). In 1541, he decorated the apse of the church of the Steccata in Parma according to a design, not of Parmigianino who had once been employed in this task, but of Giulio Romano. He also painted an "Adoration of the Magi", which after Anselmi's death was completed by Bernardino Gatti.