Leonardo da Vinci

The Nature of the Human Body

Before dressing them, we first draw them nude

Walter Isaacson

Oct 30, 2017

Asa young painter in Florence, Leonardo studied human anatomy primarily to improve his art. His forerunner as an artist-engineer, Leon Battista Alberti, had written that anatomical study was essential for an artist because properly depicting people and animals requires beginning with an understanding of their insides. “Isolate each bone of the animal, on this add its muscles, then clothe all of it with its flesh,” he wrote in On Painting, which became a bible for Leonardo. “Before dressing a man we first draw him nude, then we enfold him in draperies. So in painting the nude, we place first his bones and muscles which we then cover with flesh so that it is not difficult to understand where each muscle is beneath.”

The Inspiration Behind Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man

A look at the classic drawing stripped down to its essence

Walter Isaacson