Learning never exhausts the mind.
Leonardo da Vinci
For centuries, Leonardo da Vinci has been celebrated as the ultimate Renaissance polymath, a man whose genius spanned art, architecture, engineering, mathematics, and even anatomy. Yet, his groundbreaking anatomical studies remained hidden from the world for nearly 400 years.
As detailed in Leonardo da Vinci: Anatomist, a book by Martin Clayton, senior curator of the Royal Collection, Leonardo’s anatomical illustrations go far beyond the famous Vitruvian Man. Driven by an insatiable curiosity and a commitment to capturing nature with precision, he conducted meticulous dissections in the hospitals and morgues of Florence. His most extraordinary discovery came in his study of the heart: by injecting melted wax into an ox’s heart and observing the resulting cast, he nearly uncovered the mechanics of blood circulation—centuries ahead of science. His insights into the aortic valve’s function were not fully confirmed until the 1980s.
Among his most remarkable studies was the dissection of a 100-year-old man, who had claimed to be in perfect health just hours before his death. Leonardo’s post-mortem examination led to the first-ever description of coronary vascular occlusion, a condition now known to be a leading cause of heart disease.
Despite his intention to publish his anatomical drawings in a comprehensive treatise, Leonardo’s death in 1519 left his work buried in obscurity. His notes and sketches remained hidden until the early 1600s, when 600 of them were bound into a single collection and later became part of the Royal Collection.
Now, Leonardo da Vinci: Anatomist brings 90 of these revolutionary drawings back to light, offering a rare glimpse into the mind of a man whose scientific brilliance rivaled his artistic mastery. Accompanying the book is a high-resolution iPad app, providing access to 268 pages of his notebooks—an extraordinary testament to Leonardo’s enduring legacy.
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