Studies of the Musculature of the Legs
Pen studies of the muscles and outward contours of nude lower limbs
A pen sheet catalogued by the Biblioteca Reale as studies of the musculature of the lower limbs ("Studi di muscolatura degli arti inferiori"). At the left a single leg is drawn in profile with the thigh, knee and calf muscles emphasised through firm hatching, the surrounding contour repeated as Leonardo searches for the form. To the right two further legs are studied more lightly, running from hip and buttock down through the knee to the foot, with the flexed knee and shin worked in greater detail. The drawings analyse how the muscles shape the surface of the standing leg.
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Muscles of a leg in profile
The left-hand study isolates a single leg, driving hatching along the thigh, knee and calf to bring out the swell and division of the muscles. The contour is drawn and redrawn as the muscular form is resolved.
Outward contours of two nude legs
At the right two nude legs are laid in more lightly, from the hip and buttock down to the planted foot, with attention to the flexed knee and the line of the shin. These trace the outward form of the standing lower limb.