In this beautifully rendered drawing of a bramble, the branches are shown sagging under the weight of the fruit: Leonardo was interested not merely in the shape of the leaves and berries, but also in the living form of plants when subject to the natural forces of growth and gravity. This is one of several studies of branches of blackberry; while they capture the vigorous nature of the bramble’s growth, they are also highly detailed, drawn with a sharpened piece of natural red chalk. See also RCIN 912420.

Leonardo drew plants and flowers throughout his life, following the tradition of naturalistic detail in fifteenth-century Italian art. His finest botanical drawings were made in connection with a painting of Leda and the Swan, but what started as studies towards a painting soon became scientific studies in their own right, apparently towards a treatise on the structure of plants and trees.

Text adapted from Leonardo da Vinci: A life in drawing, London, 2018