
Early scientific studies
During the 1480s Leonardo began to study proportion and geometry, the theory of light and the principles of anatomy. He believed increasingly in the scientific basis of painting – that a painting should strive to be an objective rendering of the observable universe – and he developed a plan to compile a treatise on the theory of painting.
As the human body was the principal subject matter of the Renaissance artist, Leonardo wished to find the link between an individual’s emotions, expression and pose, so that he could paint a figure more convincingly. Many of his early anatomical studies attempt therefore to understand the structure of the brain and nerves. But with the notable exception of a skull he had very little access to human material at this time, and was unable to get very far with this study. Leonardo’s anatomical studies lapsed for the next fifteen years.
Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci 1452-Amboise 1519)
A two-sided sheet of studies of optics
Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci 1452-Amboise 1519)
Recto: Studies of geometry, clouds, plants, engineering, etc. Verso: Studies of geometry
Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci 1452-Amboise 1519)
A study of the fall of light on a face
Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci 1452-Amboise 1519)
Recto: The proportions of a standing, kneeling and sitting man. Verso: Notes on human proportion
Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci 1452-Amboise 1519)
Recto: Studies of human proportion. Verso: The proportions of the leg and foot
Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci 1452-Amboise 1519)
The proportions of the head, and a standing nude
Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci 1452-Amboise 1519)
The major organs and vessels
Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci 1452-Amboise 1519)
Recto: The viscera of a horse. Verso: The hemisection of a man and woman in the act of coition
Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci 1452-Amboise 1519)
A bear's foot
Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci 1452-Amboise 1519)
Recto: The cranium sectioned. Verso: The skull sectioned
Leonardo da Vinci (Vinci 1452-Amboise 1519)