James Lucas Profile picture
Mar 28, 2024 31 tweets 10 min read Read on X
Leonardo da Vinci's drawings - a thread 🧵

1. Vitruvian Man Image
2. Study of an Angel

The soul of this young girl seems almost visible in her eyes.

Even if da Vinci only produced about 20 paintings in his lifetime, we have over 13,000 pages of his notes and drawings. Image
3. Fetus in the Womb

More than 500 years ago, Leonardo correctly depicted the human fetus in its proper position inside a dissected uterus. Image
4. Anatomical Studies of the Shoulder

Leonardo dissected more than 30 bodies of both genders and all ages in his lifetime, leaving behind many stunning - and incredibly accurate - anatomical drawings. Image
5. Anatomical Studies

His sketches were so precise that many are still used to illustrate medical textbooks.

Image
Image
Image
6. Head of a Young Woman (La Scapigliata) Image
7. Profile of an Old Man Image
8. Studies of Crabs Image
9. Study of a Child Image
10. Study of Horses Image
11. Study of Hands Image
12. Ornithopter

Leonardo studied the flight of birds for years, and then he famously made designs for his "ornithopter", a flying machine.

Image
Image
Image
13. Helicopter

In the late 1480s, he even drew his design for an "aerial screw", a flying machine which is incredibly similar to a modern helicopter. Image
14. Dragon Striking Down Lion Image
15. The Skull

This iconic drawing is universally admired for its accuracy and proportion. Image
16. Leonardo's self-propelled cart, considered the ancestor of the modern automobile. Image
17. Study of Five Grotesque Heads Image
18. Study of the graduations of light and shade on a sphere (chiaroscuro). Image
19. The organs of a woman's body Image
20. Comparison of the leg of a man and a dog Image
21. Walking on water

A peculiar method of walking on water using skis made of cork and paddle-like poles. Image
22. Landscape drawing for Santa Maria Della Neve & botanical drawings

"The painter’s mind is a copy of the divine mind, since it operates freely in creating the many kinds of animals, plants, fruits, landscapes, countrysides, ruins, and awe-inspiring places."

Image
Image
Image
23. Cat drawings Image
24. Leonardo also produced several extremely accurate maps, such as the town plan of Imola. Image
25. Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk

This iconic drawing is widely regarded as a self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci at the age of 60. Image
26. Studies of Water Passing Obstacles Image
27. Female Head Image
28. Study for the Last Supper

Before painting his timeless masterpiece, Leonardo drew a few preparatory sketches that depict many different variations of the apostles' poses and gestures. Image
29. Heads of an old man and a youth Image
30. Muscles of the Torso and Back

These drawings give a clear picture of how the musculature lies over the ribcage and around the abdomen. In the notes, Leonardo also indicates exactly how the muscles are connected to the skeleton and to each other. Image
If you enjoyed this thread, you can follow me for more content (@JamesLucasIT) and share the first post, so that others can see it as well 👇🏻

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with James Lucas

James Lucas Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @JamesLucasIT

Sep 11
Thread of 9/11 footage you've (probably) never seen before 🧵

1. The very moment that flight 175 struck the south tower of the World Trade Center.

2. Firefighters describing what they saw

3. A man who worked inside the Twin Towers realizes how fortunate he is to be having a day off.

Read 15 tweets
Sep 5
World War II ~ A Thread 🧵

1. WWII veteran: “This is not what they died for.”

2. During World War II, it was common for soldiers to keep family photos under clear grips on their 1911 pistols. They were called “sweetheart grips.” Image
3. Fighter pilot who served in WWII finds his fallen wingman’s grave after nearly 80 years

Read 21 tweets
Sep 4
Art memes you didn’t know you needed 🧵

1. Plans for the fall? Image
2. Image
3. Image
Read 17 tweets
Sep 3
Thread of beautiful things from the past 🧵

1. A stunning drinks cabinet from the 1930s

2. A vintage knife engraved with: "There's a world you're living in, no one else has your part." Image
3. An extraordinary folding lantern, 1900s

Read 16 tweets
Sep 1
World War I ~ A Thread 🧵

1. What post-trauma looked like after WWI

2. Young soldier on the last day of World War I

3. WWI artillery in action

This extraordinary footage comes from Peter Jackson’s 2018 documentary "They Shall Not Grow Old", which brings authentic World War I film to life through meticulous restoration, colorization, and speed correction.

Read 15 tweets
Sep 1
This is what New York City used to look like 🧵

1. A news stand in 1930

2. Driving down the same NYC highway 46 years later

3. Penn Station

Once considered one of the most beautiful train stations ever built, it was demolished in 1963 to make room for Madison Square Garden.

When it first opened, The New York Times described it as "the largest building in the world ever built at one time." Image
Read 22 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(