A Treatise on Painting
by Leonardo da Vinci, translated by John Francis Rigaud
The Necessity of anatomical Knowledge
4001073A Treatise on Painting — The Necessity of anatomical KnowledgeJohn Francis RigaudLeonardo da Vinci

Chap. LIX.The Necessity of anatomical Knowledge.

The painter who has obtained a perfect knowledge of the nature of the tendons and muscles, and of those parts which contain the most of them, will know to a certainty, in giving a particular motion to any part of the body, which, and how many of the muscles give rise and contribute to it; which of them, by swelling, occasion their shortening, and which of the cartilages they surround.

He will not imitate those who, in all the different attitudes they adopt, or invent, make use of the same muscles, in the arms, back, or chest, or any other parts.