Horse skeleton and a plan for comparative anatomy
A memo on Iacomo Andrea's Vitruvius; a program to compare man, horse and beast
A large drawing in brown ink over red chalk shows the skeleton of a horse's hindquarters, with the hind-leg bones, pelvis and part of the rib cage. The accompanying note sets out a program to demonstrate the difference between man and horse, and likewise the other animals, beginning with the bones and then treating the muscles group by group according to how they arise and end in the bones, with or without tendons. A separate memorandum records that Messer Vincenzio Aliplando, living near the Osteria dell'Orso, owns the Vitruvius of Iacomo Andrea.
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Program of comparative osteology and myology
Leonardo notes his intent to demonstrate the difference between man and horse, and likewise the other animals, beginning with the bones and then following all the muscles: first those that arise and end in the bones without tendons, then those that do so with a tendon, then those with a single tendon on one side.
Skeleton of the horse's hindquarters
The sheet is dominated by a study of a horse's skeleton, showing the bones of the hind leg with the pelvis and part of the rib cage, drawn in ink over red chalk. It illustrates the osteological starting point named in the note.
Whereabouts of a Vitruvius manuscript
A memorandum records that Messer Vincenzio Aliplando, who lives near the Osteria dell'Orso, has the Vitruvius of Iacomo Andrea.
