In 1503 Leonardo received an important commission from the Florentine Republic, that of decorating a wall in the Sala del Gran Consiglio in Palazzo Vecchio with a representation of the city’s victory over the Milanese army at Anghiari in 1440. The conception of the monumental pictorial decoration, which remained unfinished and was covered over by Vasari’s frescoes in 1563, is here visualized through an exceptional selection of Leonardo’s drawings as well as through copies, including paintings, drawings and sculptures by contemporary or late generation artists.

Leonardo’s preparatory studies document with striking eloquence the extremely innovative conception of the gigantic mural painting, masterfully illustrating the confused fury of the clashing forces and the horses’ pounding hooves amidst the uproar of the battle, "where […] there occur infinite foreshortenings and bendings of those engaging in this discord, […] or it might be said, this most bestial madness" (Book on Painting, § 173).