LEONARDO DA VINCI (VINCI 1452-AMBOISE 1519)
Recto: The vessels and nerves of the neck. Verso: The vessels of the liver
c.1508RCIN 919051
All three drawings are labelled del vec[c]hio (‘of the old man’), and thus purport to show the liver of the ‘centenarian’ that Leonardo had dissected in the winter of 1507 – 8. At centre left can be seen the outline of the stomach and the gall bladder tucked in below the liver. Leonardo’s primary aim was to convey the branching of the vessels within the liver, rather than the external appearance of the organs.