How to Draw like Leonardo da Vinci: Bones and Muscles of Thigh
The years 1510 and 1511, in the career of the Italian genius Leonardo da Vinci, were dedicated to the detailed drawings of human anatomy. In association with Dr. Marcantonio Della Torre, he covered body appendages and vital organs in equal measures. These pen and ink sketches differed significantly from his earlier tryst with mythological temperas and frescos. These scientific works in anatomical topography were biological diagrams of remarkable accuracy, derived out of first hand eyewitness understanding. Unverified accounts suggest that Leonardo da Vinci dissected almost 20 male and female dead bodies for his drawings. Therefore, a great deal of diligence and astute observation goes behind any attempt to replicate these sketches. The following guide is designed to help you draw human thighs like Leonardo da Vinci. Modern terminology is used for easy understanding.
- Reference. Do not try to rely on your understanding or memory for creating the bones and muscles of thighs. Medical works by Da Vinci were precision sketches that must be replicated without any ‘tweaking.’ Obtain reference images from books, journals, or the internet.
- Style. Da Vinci executed his works in series, where views included details and completeness varied. The idea was to give as many details as possible. There are longitudinal sectional drawings, complete muscular topographies, standalone bones, skeleton, and so on. Choose beforehand, the type of work you wish to recreate.
- Bones. Drawing the thigh skeleton is among the simplest of all. Each human thigh has only one bone, Femur. It is the longest and most powerful of long bones in the body. The upper end consists of ball joint head on the inner side and the trochanters (greater and lesser) on the posterior side. The lower extremity of femur appears like two small, adjacent balls. Da Vinci’s recreations of femur from different angles are particularly known for their accuracy.
- Muscles. Da Vinci noted that upon reaching knee, the thigh muscles take form of tendons and eventually that of cartilage, which is attached to the knee joint. Keeping this in mind, he made several comprehensive structures, demarcating each type of muscles distinctly. In such designs, the muscle mass immediately below skin and a part of femur are visible. The frontal, back, and side views are depicted through separate drawings. The anterior end of a thigh consists of Sartorius (the longest muscle in human beings) and quadriceps (vastus intermedius, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, & rectus femoris). The middle muscles are gracilis and adductors. The posterior compartment is made up of biceps femoris (hamstrings muscle), semitendinosus, and semimembranosus. Da Vinci’s works portrayed the anterior and posterior muscles in detail.
Once you are through with the sketching part, add some shading effects. Remember that these strokes are used to demarcate different muscles and not for adding any aesthetic value.
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