The Climbers (Three Figures from Michelangelo's Battle of Cascina) (1510): Art, History and Details

The Climbers (Three Figures from Michelangelo's Battle of Cascina) (1510) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Marcantonio Raimondi (Italian, 1470/82–1527/34); Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564); Lucas van Leyden (Netherlandish, 1494–about 1533).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

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.

Object facts

• Title: The Climbers (Three Figures from Michelangelo's Battle of Cascina)
• Date: 1510
• Creator attribution: Marcantonio Raimondi (Italian, 1470/82–1527/34); Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564); Lucas van Leyden (Netherlandish, 1494–about 1533)
• Culture: Italy
• Type: Print
• Technique: engraving
• Dimensions: Sheet: 28.6 x 22.9 cm (11 1/4 x 9 in.)
• Collection: PR - Engraving
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1922.142

Collection credit

Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland

Further reading listed by the museum

• Peters, Emily. “Master/Apprentice: Imitation and Inspiration in the Renaissance.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 59, no. 5 (September/October 2019): 8-9.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.