Renaissance Florence bubbled with deceit and corruption. It was the place menaced and blackmailed by Cesare Borgia and ruled on the advice of Niccolò Machiavelli himself. Yet inside this treacherous city, three of the greatest names in art vied to create works of transcendent beauty. Each of them is still recognised by only one of their names: they are Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael.
Not much written evidence survives of the creative rivalry that raged between these men – and what has endured often does not stand up to scrutiny. But this autumn the British public will have the chance to witness the competition between these revered artists with their own eyes for the first time. In fact, they will be able to see it twice: once on the walls of the Royal Academy of Arts, where drawings by this trio of masters will be brought together for comparison as never before (from 9 November), and later on television.
