LEONARDO DA VINCI (VINCI 1452-AMBOISE 1519)
Recto: The bones of the foot, and the shoulder. Verso: The veins and muscles of the arm
c.1510-11RCIN 919011
The two upper drawings show essentially the same muscular arrangement, but the topmost study also includes the path of the asilica and cephalic veins. In the sketches below Leonardo tries to establish the layout of the arm muscles, prior to his more finished drawings of the same aspect on other sheets in this series.
These illustrations of the foot are extraordinary, with every bone evident and correctly articulated. The only real shortcoming is that the feet are ‘flat’, lacking the arch seen in live subjects, as Leonardo was working from prepared dry material.