Leonardo's "claw hand" stopped painting

Italian doctors suggest that Leonardo da Vinci could have had nerve damage during a fall, which would prevent him from painting later in his life.

They diagnosed ulnar paralysis, or "claw hand", by badyzing the representation of his right hand in two works of art.

It had been suggested that the weakening of Leonardo's hand had been caused by a stroke.

But in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, doctors suggest that nerve damage prevented him from holding an easel and brushing his teeth.

Leonardo da Vinci, who lived from 1452 to 1519, was an artist and inventor whose talents included architecture, anatomy, engineering and sculpture, as well as painting.

But art historians have wondered with which hand he was drawing and painting.

The badysis of his drawing shows slanted shadows from the upper left corner to the lower right corner, suggesting left-handed behavior. But all the historical biographical documents suggest that Leonardo used his right hand when he was creating other types of works.

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For this research, two works – showing Leonardo da Vinci in the last stages of his life – were badyzed. One is a portrait of the artist, drawn in red chalk, attributed to the 16th century Lombard artist, Giovanni Ambrogio Figino.

Unusually, he shows that his right arm is largely concealed in folds of clothing. His hand is visible but in a "contracted and stiff position".

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Dr. Davide Lazzeri, a specialist in reconstructive and aesthetic plastic surgery at the Villa Salaria Clinic in Rome, who led the badysis, said: "Rather than describe the typical tense hand seen in muscle spasticity after a like ulnar paralysis, commonly called "claw hand."

The ulnar nerve goes from shoulder to toe and handles almost all the intrinsic muscles of the hand that allow fine motor movements. A fall could have caused trauma to the upper arm, resulting in paralysis or weakness.

No cognitive decline or other motor impairment has been reported, which provides further evidence that a stroke was an unlikely cause of Leonardo's disability. Dr. Lazzeri said.

"This could explain why he left many incomplete paintings, including Mona Lisa, in the last five years of his painting career, while continuing to teach and draw."

Another image, an engraving of a man playing the reading da braccio – a stringed instrument of the Renaissance – was examined. The man in engraving has recently been identified as Leonardo da Vinci. The badistant of a cardinal wrote in his diary a visit to the house of the artist in 1517.

Assistant Antonio de Beatis wrote: "We can not wait for more good work from him, because a certain paralysis has paralyzed his right hand … And although Messer Leonardo can no longer paint with the sweetness that was clean, he can always conceive and instruct others. "