UNPUBLISHED SHEETS BY LEONARDO DA VINCI

THE ANATOMY OF THE HORSE

original: "Anatomie, cheval, Windsor, Rouveyre, Feuillet, Recto, Inédits"
Anatomy: The study of the structure of living things.
Horse: The primary subject of these specific anatomical studies.
Windsor: Referring to the Royal Library at Windsor Castle where the original manuscripts are kept.
Rouveyre: The Parisian publisher of this late 19th-century facsimile edition.
Sheet: A single leaf of paper.
Recto: The front side of a manuscript leaf.
Unpublished: Referring to the fact that these specific drawings had not been widely printed or circulated prior to this edition.

NOTES ON THE PLATES

The drawings reproduced in this first part of the work belong to the period of Leonardo's greatest maturity. Likely referring to the period around 1490–1510 when Leonardo was most active in his anatomical investigations.

In these sheets, the Master A traditional title for Leonardo da Vinci does not limit himself to the simple external representation of the animal, but investigates the inner mechanics of the body. One can observe:

• The precise study of the myology the study of the muscular system of the limbs.
• The proportions of the horse, measured with mathematical rigor.
• The tension of the tendons during movement.

See the notes on Sheet 13 regarding the "proportions of the Sicilian horse."

Most of these drawings were executed with red chalk A natural clay pigment often used by Renaissance artists for its warmth and ability to create soft gradients or pen and ink. Some sheets contain marginal annotations written in Leonardo's characteristic mirror writing Leonardo wrote from right to left, which can be read normally when held up to a mirror.