Leonardo da Vinci

Born in 1452 in Vinci, Italy,
Died in 1519 in Amboise, France

Work

Anatomical study ‘The Great Lady’, circa 1509/10

Four centuries before Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen made his physical breakthrough in 1895 with the discovery of the rays named after him, Leonardo da Vinci penetrated the surface of the human body with chalk, pen and ink. His anatomical studies combine art and science and are exemplary for the pictorial visualisation of the interior of the body before Röntgen.