At the turn of the 16th century, three titans of the Italian Renaissance briefly crossed paths, competing for the attention of the most powerful patrons in Republican Florence. In January 1504 the city's most prominent artists came together to advise on an appropriate location for Michelangelo's nearly finished sculpture of David. Among them was Leonardo da Vinci, who - like Michelangelo - had only recently returned to his native Florence.

In this beautifully designed book, Scott Nethersole and Per Rumberg take Michelangelo's celebrated Taddei Tondo as their starting point, and examine the rivalry between Michelangelo and Leonardo, and the influence of both on the young Raphael. Some of the finest examples of Italian Renaissance drawing are reproduced, including Leonardo's Burlington House Cartoon and studies by Leonardo and Michelangelo for their murals commissioned by the Florentine government for the newly constructed council hall in the Palazzo della Signoria.