Twelve studies of arms: four bent, the others extended, four as écorché.

The majority of the studies of arms were executed in red chalk only, with the remaining three drawn in black chalk. Parts of the shoulder and the chest are indicated in all studies. Similar studies can be found on RCINs 906873 and 906884. The studies in the lower half of the sheet are écorchés and show the musculature of the arms; the upper ones show them with skin.

For other anatomical studies by Figino in the Royal Collection see RCINs 906872, 906873, 906874, 906875, 906876, 906877, 906878, 906879, 906884r, 906886, 906889 and inv.nos. 986, 944, 1041, 985, 934, 946, 941, 939, 942, 932, 943, 947 at the Academia in Venice.

In the second half of the sixteenth-century, when Figino was working in Milan, the anatomical drawings by Leonardo da Vinci were easily accessible for artists. Nevertheless, it is surprisingly difficult to find any specific links between Figino’s drawings and those of Leonardo. Not one of Figino’s studies is a direct copy after an extant drawing by Leonardo. But given that the drawings of both artists are so numerous, the absence of any known copy does suggest that Figino was working ‘in the manner’ of Leonardo, rather than directly after his anatomical and figure studies.

Inscribed in pen at lower left and right: N^o 14 Figino