Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) Studies of a horse 1490, metalpoint on blue paper

Leonardo da Vinci's natural history drawings are unparalleled in their range and their significance to the advancement of art and science. His studies of anatomy, botany, and natural phenomena included important details that aided the development of science.

Studies of a horse, 1490, clearly shows Leonardo's creative thinking combined with a scientific mind. Having studied how muscles lie beneath the skin of numerous corpses, he was able to convey incredible naturalism in the contours of animals he drew.

In Studies of a horse, he has used a silverpoint stylus on blue paper coated with finely ground bone to draw hatching and cross-hatching. This way he achieves a natural shape with the smooth surface of the hide. He made many studies of horses because he was commissioned to sculpt an enormous equestrian monument that never came to fruition.