“The subject assigned to Michelangelo was another of Florence’s rare battlefield victories, this one over Pisa in the Battle of Cascina in 1364. Like Leonardo, he failed to complete his painting, Rather than focusing on a climactic event, as Leonardo did with his battle for the standard, Michelangelo chose to portray an oddly tangential scene, one that featured more than a dozen muscular and naked men. This is the moment when Florence’s soldiers were bathing in the Arno River and received an alarm that the enemy was attacking, causing them to scramble up the banks and grab their clothes. A rare event in military history that centered on nude wet men, it was a scene suited for Michelangelo, who had never been to war or seen a battle but was infatuated with the male body. “In all his works Michelangelo was drawn to the nude,” Jonathan Jones wrote. “Here, he flaunted it as an obsession—drew attention to his habit, dramatized his penchant. . . . Anyone who hadn’t registered before that young Michelangelo was utterly besotted with the bodies of men was certainly going to notice now.”21 Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci (p. 374). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci (pp. 373-374). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci (p. 373). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. ”
