We might think it absurd to look at such supreme human treasures and ask which artist is best â” but that was what the Florentine republic tried to establish, by getting them to work at public expense on competitive battle paintings, Leonardo’s Battle of Anghiari and Michelangelo’s Battle of Cascina , for the Great Council Hall of the civic palace. And this attracts the punters at the Louvre or the Accademia in the same way as the crowds might throng to get a fleeting glimpse of Tom Cruise on the red carpet or of a jaded reality TV start falling out of a nightclub. But, on the upside, it means I’ve spent quite a time looking at the other paintings in that room, while waiting, hopelessly, for the crowds to abate sufficiently to try an approach - and, last time I went, there was a series of four paintings of (generic) philosophers high up on the wall to the left (looking at LG) - one with a book, one with a pen, one ” avec lunettes ” - well worth a look, as it looks like a dissolute bloke in sunglasses gazing down on the throng. But then I stood in the middle of the dining hall from the point where the viewer was meant to be - and the whole painting came alive, it seemed to dance with life and depth.

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