Michelangelo never completed the painting, but did produce a complete
cartoon of the composition. The cartoon was copied by several artists, the most notable extant copy being by Michelangelo's pupil Sangallo. Some of Michelangelo's preparatory drawings also survive, along with prints of part of the scene by
Marcantonio Raimondi. 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.
Vasari states that the last pieces he saw were in
Mantua. 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. As the soldiers emerge from the river and buckle on their armour, they are threatened by shots from the Pisans. Several soldiers look or point toward the Pisan position to the left. One soldier has apparently been hit and fallen back into the river, while others leap energetically into action. By choosing this episode, Michelangelo could depict his favoured topic: the nude male figure in various postures. ==Studies==