Done in pen and brown ink with wash modeling over traces of black chalk (Keele and Roberts). This is one of his last anatomical studies that came out well. However, “the line is dry and wiry, seldom betraying any feeling of vivacity, a sad, scientific style, compared to the beautiful anatomical drawings of 1489: yet… Leonardo had not lost the magic of his touch” (Clark, 230). This quote from Kenneth Clarks book perfectly describes this work, and all the works close to this piece in proximity of time. Looking even close at the study, you can see that the depression is ebbing at the edge of his subconscious. The man in this drawing is bland despite that fact that da Vinci did a wonderful job with the details and shading. The work is the most scientific of all his drawings, in my opinion, because it’s purely details. The lines are hard, making sure that viewers are seeing and understanding all the muscles displayed. This is one of the pieces that links Leonardo da Vinci’s styles before and during his depression at the end of his …show more content…
At this point in his life, Leonardo was suffering from depression, and as a result, his works suffered. On September 24, 1513, Leonardo da Vinci left Milan with Francesco Melzi and Salai to head to Florence (Hoch). This worsens his depression because he was most welcomed in Milan, so he favored it. Going back to Florence where he was hated made him feel bad about himself. This study was done on blue paper with pen and brown ink (Keele and Roberts). Looking at this work, one knows right away that da Vinci was wrong. First, the neck is elongated far past the normal size. The scapulae are the wrong shape (they almost look like the front view of a scapula, but da Vinci is working on the anterior portion so it is most definitely wrong). Also the conjunction points of the humerus with the backward facing scapula are strange to look at. Any anatomist would question it because the ball and socket joint is overplayed in this situation, it is much too