The female organs
Your order shall commence with the formation of the child in the womb, saying which part of it is formed first and so on in succession, placing its parts according to the times of pregnancy until the birth, and how it is nourished, learning in part from the eggs which hens make.
Manuscripts in the Royal Library, London, Windsor Castle.
Successively owned by the sculptor and book lover, Pompeo Leoni, the leading English collector, Lord Arundel, who purchased them in Spain and by the painter, Peter Lely, they entered the collection of Charles 1st of England in the second half of the 17th century. "This precious curiosity" disappeared during the English civil war before reappearing in the mid-18th century at Kensington Palace in a "large and sturdy chest", as recorded in a document of the time. Around 600 drawings cover the period 1478 to 1518. They are now grouped together by theme, landscapes and nature, animals, portraits and anatomy.
Quill and ink and ink on charcoal and traces of red chalk, 46.7 x 33.2 cm.
Windsor Castle, Royal Library, RL 12281 r.
A mixture of observations and bookish instruction, this highly detailed anatomical representation nonetheless contains serious errors. The drawing technique – central folding of the sheet then pin drawing with the outline transferred to the opposite fold – affirms the symmetry of the human body.
This groundbreaking approach to representation of the body met with considerable success in the 16th century.
