Finding Leonardo: The Case for Recovering the Battle of Anghiari

And having climbed the stairs of the Great Hall, diligently take a look at a group of horses and men (a battle piece by Leonardoda Vinci), which will strike you as a miraculous thing Anton Francesco Doni (1549).For centuries the whereabouts of Leonardo da Vinci s masterwork mural of the Battle of Anghiari has been one of the art world s greatestmysteries. Leonardo worked on a painting in the Great Hall of Florence s Palazzo Vecchio for less than a year before abandoning it to pursueother commissions. The uncompleted fresco was reported to be deteriorating rapidly, and less than 50 years later, Giorgio Vasari wascommissioned to cover Leonardo s unfinished work with new, large-scale battle scenes. Yet those who saw Leonardo s mural during its briefexistence applauded it as his greatest work and commended it as a school for the world . In a new book from The Florentine Press, FindingLeonardo: The Case for Recovering The Battle of Anghiari , art historian Rab Hatfield revisits historical data and scholarly analysis in lightof new archival evidence and results from recent thermographic examinations to clarify the painting s exact location in the Palazzo Vecchio.Rather than submit his research to a scholarly journal, which was his original intent, Hatfield, a past Member of the Institute for Advanced Studyat Princeton and former Fellow of Villa I Tatti, decided to publish with a fledgling popular press. Support from actor and art historian Peter Wellerand The Friends of Florence, a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoration of the city s art treasures, made publication through The FlorentinePress possible. In an essay for the general reader, Hatfield identifies the mural s location, posits its probable size and context, considers the possibleexistence of other work, and explores the complex issues of the painting s state and the viability of its recovery. He offers a section of detailed notesfor the scholar.