Three Rival Temperaments

The High Renaissance was shaped by the rivalry between its three greatest figures. Leonardo was the cerebral experimenter who left many works unfinished because his curiosity outran his patience. Michelangelo was the tortured perfectionist who saw sculpture as freeing figures trapped in stone. Raphael was the diplomatic prodigy who absorbed everyone else's innovations into harmonious compositions.

Their conflicts fueled breakthroughs. When Leonardo and Michelangelo took on rival battle murals in Florence's town hall, the whole city watched as competition turned into public spectacle.