Leonardo da Vinci Drawings

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Discover some of Leonardo da Vinci's most famous drawings. Includes portraits, anatomical studies, maps, landscape sketches and inventions. Highlights include The Vitruvian Man, Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk (Self Portrait) and a well known study of hands.

00:00 Introduction
00:13 Vitruvian Man
00:26 Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk
00:37 Virgin and Child with St Anne and Saint John the Baptist
00:49 Portrait of Isabella D'Este
01:01 La Bella Principessa
01:14 Head of a Man
01:26 Portrait of an Ancient Warrior
01:37 Study for the Kneeling Leda
01:50 Virgin and Christ Child with a Cat
02:02 Study for the Head of Leda
02:14 Head of St Anne
02:26 Head-Length Figure of an Apostle
02:38 Study of a Child
02:50 Caricature
03:02 Brain Physiology
03:14 Studies of Hands
03:26 Study of Hands
03:38 Studies of Water
03:50 Studies of Flowers
04:02 Cats, Lions and a Dragon
04:14 Studies of Crabs
04:26 Study for an Equestrian Monument
04:38 Rearing Horse and Heads of a Horse, a Lion and a Man
04:49 Scythed Chariot and Armoured Tank
05:02 Flying Machine
05:14 Plan of Imola
05:26 Landscape Drawing for Santa Maria della Neve

As time progressed he would make use of metalpoint, ink and pen plus chalk, and these would suit different challenges, with their own unique advantages. He would also pass on his skills to members of his studio, who would marvel at his work, which was passed around to his students and followers, who would make copies as they went.

Da Vinci's greatest focus would be on the human body, as a strong handling of this was essential for any Renaissance artist. He covered different models, old and young, and would also capture them in full length displays, as well as sometimes focusing on individual limbs to perfect a specific element of his work.

The different genres discussed below outline how he perfected each and every aspect of his paintings, from the portraits in the foreground, to the touches of detail that surrounded them, to the landscapes which covered everything behind. He left no stone unturned in the pursuit of becoming as good as he could possibly be, and one cannot argue that the levels he eventually achieved were extraordinary.

Whilst Leonardo is rightly regarded as a genius, his talents as a draughtsman were honed over decades, and from the result of careful observation and endless practice. He left behind 13,000 pages of drawings and notes which underline how he tried to understand what he was looking at. He went to great lengths to produce the most accurate drawings, delving below the surface to see how things were constructed.

Leonardo made use of metalpoint and pen and ink for his earliest drawings, and truly mastered both techniques over a period of several decades. He would later switch to chalk, and produce some of his best work using that medium. In his final years he would try out many different combinations and sought to make use of the skills that he had honed over the previous decades.

All images are courtesy of Wikipedia.