Editing Leonardo da Vinci (section)

== Drawings ==
[[File:Head of a Warrior - Da Vinci 1 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|''Antique Warrior in Profile'', {{circa|1472|lk=no}}. British Museum, London]]
[[File:Leonardo da Vinci - presumed self-portrait - WGA12798.jpg|thumb|upright|Presumed [[Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk|self-portrait of Leonardo]] ({{Circa|1510}}) at the [[Royal Library of Turin|Royal Library]] of [[Turin]], Italy]]

Leonardo was a prolific draughtsman, keeping journals full of small sketches and detailed drawings recording all manner of things that took his attention. As well as the journals there exist many studies for paintings, some of which can be identified as preparatory to particular works such as ''The Adoration of the Magi'', ''The Virgin of the Rocks'' and ''The Last Supper''.<ref name=Popham /> His earliest dated drawing is a ''Landscape of the Arno Valley'', 1473, which shows the river, the mountains, [[Montelupo Fiorentino|Montelupo]] Castle and the farmlands beyond it in great detail.{{sfn|Bortolon|1967}}<ref name=Popham>{{cite book |first=A. E. |last=Popham |title=The Drawings of Leonardo da Vinci |year=1946}}</ref>{{efn|This work is now in the collection of the [[Uffizi]], Drawing No. 8P.}}

Among his famous drawings are the ''[[Vitruvian Man]]'', a study of the proportions of the human body; the ''Head of an Angel'', for ''[[The Virgin of the Rocks]]'' in the [[Louvre]]; a botanical study of ''Star of Bethlehem''; and a large drawing (160&nbsp;×&nbsp;100&nbsp;cm) in black chalk on coloured paper of ''[[The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist]]'' in the National Gallery, London.<ref name=Popham /> This drawing employs the subtle ''[[sfumato]]'' technique of shading, in the manner of the ''Mona Lisa''. It is thought that Leonardo never made a painting from it, the closest similarity being to ''[[The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (Leonardo)|The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne]]'' in the Louvre.{{sfn|Ottino della Chiesa|1967|p=102}}

Other drawings of interest include numerous studies generally referred to as "caricatures" because, although exaggerated, they appear to be based upon observation of live models. Vasari relates that Leonardo would look for interesting faces in public to use as models for some of his work.<ref group="‡" name=":0" /> There are numerous studies of beautiful young men, often associated with Salaì, with the rare and much admired facial feature, the so-called "Grecian profile".{{efn|The "Grecian profile" has a continuous straight line from forehead to nose-tip, the bridge of the nose being exceptionally high. It is a feature of many [[Ancient Greek sculpture|Classical Greek]] statues.}} These faces are often contrasted with that of a warrior.<ref name=Popham /> Salaì is often depicted in fancy-dress costume. Leonardo is known to have designed sets for pageants with which these may be associated. Other, often meticulous, drawings show studies of drapery. A marked development in Leonardo's ability to draw drapery occurred in his early works. Another often-reproduced drawing is a macabre sketch that was done by Leonardo in Florence in 1479 showing the body of [[Bernardo Baroncelli]], hanged in connection with the murder of [[Giuliano de' Medici|Giuliano]], brother of Lorenzo de' Medici, in the [[Pazzi conspiracy]].<ref name=Popham /> In his notes, Leonardo recorded the colours of the robes that Baroncelli was wearing when he died.

Like the two contemporary architects [[Donato Bramante]] (who designed the [[Cortile del Belvedere|Belvedere Courtyard]]) and [[Antonio da Sangallo the Elder]], Leonardo experimented with designs for centrally planned churches, some of which appear in his journals, as both plans and views, although none was ever realised.{{sfn|Rosci|1977|pp=9–20}}{{sfn|Hartt|1970|pp=391–392}}