The Vitruvian Man is one of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous sketches and one of the most iconic images associated with the Renaissance. It depicts a nude male figure superimposed upon a circle and a square, with his hands and feet touching both shapes. It was part of an attempt to draw the ideally proportioned man, based on the writings of the Roman architect Vitruvius, which are referenced in the inscription. As the circle and the square are the two most basic geometric figures, the drawing has been interpreted as signifying mankind as the pinnacle of God’s creation.

A photograph taken from a copy of A Treatise on Painting published in 1651 by Raphael Trichet du Fresne. A Treatise on Painting was compiled posthumously by his pupil and heir Francesco Melzi. It includes advice to novice painters. He takes a systematic approach to the practice of painting by establishing principles on the matters of light, colour, proportion, movement and perspective.

This drawing depicts a fetus in utero in ‘complete breech’ position with its legs crossed and head facing downwards. Arguably one of Leonardo Da Vinci’s most known anatomical drawings, it depicts an otherwise unknown perspective of a fetus before birth has even occured, followed by smaller illustrations beside it of the mother’s organs- including the placenta, uterine membranes, and umbilical cord. Much of his knowledge on these organs comes from his observations drawn from cows and the birth of calves (Clayton, M. and Philo, R., 2012).

Da Vinci’s closest approach to the full representation of the human skeleton. There is a note at the top of the page that reads: “What are the parts of man where the flesh no matter what the obesity, never increases, and what are the places where this flesh increases more than anywhere else,” (translation provided by Charles D. O’Malley and J.B. de C.M. Saunders) indicating that he was interested that way that fat affects the shape and form of the human body. There are a few minor inaccuracies in the arrangement of the ribs, suggesting that Leonardo did not have access to a complete human skeleton at the time of this drawing.