The Notebook Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci

The Notebook Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci

Flying Machine

• 1485
• across 12 volumes
• bird/bat wings as inspiration
• Wings flapped with two parts, connected like an elbow
• Connected to a ring in the center pulley system
• Man in center pedals and operates pulley
• Both da Vinci and historians conclude

that flight would be unsuccessful,

no way to raise off the ground

By Sharry Liang

Foetus in the Womb

• 1510-1513
• Pen and ink on paper with red and black chalk
• Drawn by observing human and animal dissections
• Hard to obtain female bodies for research, no embalming
• First to correctly draw fetus position in the uterus, accurately drawn spine, details of blood passage through umbilical cord
• Some inaccuracies due to the circumstances, but still ahead of time! Well-drawn embryology that would not be discovered until centuries later though micro anatomy, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imagine (MRI).

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci

• 1452 - 1519
• Born in Vinci, Republic of Florence, (Italy)
• Known most for: The Last Supper, Mona Lisa, Lady with Ermine, Vitruvian Man, and self-portrait in red chalk.
• Painter, sculptor, writer, musician, engineer, architect, inventor, mathematician, botanist, anatomist, and more!

Vitruvian Man

• 1490
• pen and ink on paper
• perfect human proportion
• studies of ancient Roman architect Vitruvius
• Two superimposed positions (arms outstretched, and spread eagle), overlapping square and circle
• Top paragraph: measurements, Ex) "four fingers is a palm, six palms is a cubit, four cubits make a man."
• Bottom paragraph:proportions, Ex) "the length of the outspread arms is equal to height of the man."
• Leonardo's adjustments to Vitruvius's "perfect man" includes lowering the square, changing the center-point to below the navel
• Analogy of Universe: symmetry. Square = material existence, circle = spiritual existence
• Vitruvian Man is used today as the perfectly proportioned model

Notebooks

• Over 13,000 pages
• Grocery lists, sketches for paintings, scientific theories, anatomical drawings, inventions, natural philosophy.
• Unpublished, unnoticed as scientist, Art & Science = separate
• Notebooks distributed after death
• Example drawings: Vitruvian Man, Flying Machine, Study of a Lily, and Foetus in the Womb

Study of a Lily

• 1480
• pen and ink on paper with sepia wash
• Botany was not often observed in art
• Shows correct growth patterns with buds, blossoms, stamens, and pistils
• Emphasis on line contour and use of highlights/shadows (sepia wash) to show 3-D form

Summary

• Leonardo da Vinci was an impressive draftsman, and he showed curiosity in the world around him.
• He studied botany, engineering, geometry, anatomy, and much more to increase the accuracy in his drawings.
• His notebook drawings combine his skill in art with his knowledge in science.
• Vitruvian Man is the perfect model of human proportions, his Flying Machines show his fascination with natural flight and interest to make it a reality for man-made machines, Study of a Lily showed his learning process into botany unlike other artists of his time, and Foetus in the Womb provides discoveries and expertise that was ahead of his time.
• These notebook drawings help support that Leonardo da Vinci was a major contribution to the Renaissance.