The opposite wall was to be decorated by Leonardo da Vinci, who was commissioned to depict the Battle of Anghiari.

According to Michelangelo's biographer Giorgio Vasari, the original cartoon was deliberately cut up, while its owner the Duke Giuliano de Medici was recovering from an illness, by other admiring artisans and distributed across Italy.

[3] Michelangelo depicted a scene at the beginning of the battle, when the Florentine army was initially taken by surprise in the attack by the Pisans.

He depicts Florentine soldiers bathing naked in the river Arno, responding to a trumpet warning of the Pisan attack.

By choosing this episode, Michelangelo could depict his favoured topic: the nude male figure in various postures.