A study of a nude man standing, seen from behind, with his left arm stretched down and his right arm not shown; the left arm and shoulder have been very carefully modelled. To the right is another study, seen from the waist down, in profile to the left; the right leg is not shown. The waist, hip, and thigh have been carefully modelled.

These figure studies from a posed model are the sort of studio exercise that would have been common to any ambitious artist in the Renaissance – intended to hone the artist’s draughtsmanship, observational skills and knowledge of human form. Leonardo prepared the paper with a coloured ground so that he could draw with metalpoint for the outlines and shading, and with a brush add highlights in liquid lead white.

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