The Climbers (Three Figures from Michelangelo's Battle of Cascina)

1510

The Climbers (Three Figures from Michelangelo's Battle of Cascina), 1510. Marcantonio Raimondi (Italian, 1470/82–1527/34), after Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564), after Lucas van Leyden (Dutch, 1494–1533). Engraving; sheet: 28.6 x 22.9 cm (11 1/4 x 9 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1922.142 Although Michelangelo’s 1504 commission to paint the monumental Battle of Cascina fresco in Florence’s city hall was never completed, his cartoon (full-scale drawing) for the composition was studied by many artists in Florence before being destroyed. In this print made just six years after the commission, engraver Marcantonio Raimondi directly quoted three figures from the left side of the cartoon, demonstrating his superior ability in accurately rendering Michelangelo’s heroic male figures. The landscape, which Marcantonio copied from a print by Netherlandish artist Lucas van Leyden, shows his impressive range as a printmaker.