Notes and Sketches on the Anatomy of the Horse, Vol. 2 (1901) - Page 9

NOTES AND SKETCHES ON HORSES

The equine original: "hippiques" works of Leonardo da Vinci confirm, to the highest degree, his incessant desire to learn and his need to classify the teachings of nature in his memory. He achieved this by fixing the most important divisions of the horse's structure through a series of lines marking proportional limits that were easy to remember. The Master arrived at this by means of a fixed base, which was the length of the animal's head.

It was in this way that Leonardo invented the equine canon canon A rule or standard of mathematical proportions used in art to create a "perfect" or harmonious representation of a figure.; one can therefore be certain that anyone with a special interest in the horse will derive serious instruction from his studies.

The classification of the sketches and drawings, published by Mr. Édouard Rouveyre, begins with those depicting the heads of horses in all positions, on folios 1 to 6.

Next come the forelimbs: folio 7 represents an animal seen from the front and standing squarely; it is exactly similar, regarding the distance between its feet, to the one published by Bourgelat Claude Bourgelat (1712–1779), the founder of scientific veterinary medicine in France. in 1770, which contained the explanation of the geometrical proportions of the horse written by Vincent, a professor at Alfort The National Veterinary School of Alfort, near Paris, one of the oldest veterinary institutions in the world..

Afterward, from 8 to 20, the forelimbs are represented, sometimes in a weight-bearing position original: "à l'appui", sometimes raised original: "au soutien", with all the variations of posture produced by their musculature.

Then, folios 21 to 25 contain the hindquarters, especially the poses of a gallop transitioning into a rear, having the angle made by the legs with the ground very open toward the front—a general form—

original: "hippiques" equine Relating to horses.
original: "canon hippique" equine canon A system of proportions for drawing horses.
original: "Édouard Rouveyre" Édouard Rouveyre The Parisian publisher of this 1901 collection.
original: "Bourgelat" Bourgelat Claude Bourgelat, pioneer of veterinary science.
original: "Alfort" Alfort The site of the famous French veterinary school.