Upstream | October 11, 2009 | 22 comments

Leonardo Da Vinci had fused fingers

source: http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/scitech-news/2007/03/26/research-probes-into-possible-da-v...

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vincius
Although Ben Sweeney’s research runs the gamut on da Vinci — including art, science and math — his study on da Vinci’s anomalous left hand has been the subject of most interest. Through analysis of different da Vinci sketches, Sweeney developed the idea that the third and fourth fingers of da Vinci’s left hand were connected. This condition is called syndactyly, in which two or more digits are fused together.

Sweeney said that art historians have noticed issues with da Vinci’s hand in his sketches before, but it was always written off as the result of a stroke da Vinci had late in life. But Sweeney took his theory to Joseph Upton ’66, a former Yale-New Haven Hospital surgeon who researched at the University, who agreed that it appears to be a syndactyly hand.
Both were interviewed for ABC primetime special.


more info at www.leonardoshands.com
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22 comments // Leonardo Da Vinci had fused fingers

  • RojoGatto
  • vincius
    • 0
      vincius  
    • RojoGatto:

      actually try an experiment use rubber band or tape and lightly connect your third and fourth fingers... it actually makes your better for doing fine detail. It is steadier... Leonardo used his left for fine details...

    • 3 years ago
  • 2helenahandbasket
  • eden49
  • eden49
  • masterzip
    • 0
      masterzip  

    • did anyone notice that this is a DRAWING,....some people talk about this like it is photographic evidence.....just plain stupid....

    • 3 years ago
  • vincius
    • 0
      vincius  

    • response to kgp4death... cute... but no one knows where Leonardo is....other than in france... His grave was likely dug up during french revolution for the lead in his casket to make bullets... about a hundred years later scholars wanted to find his body and have a burial so they went throughthe hundred bones from bodies in cemetary and determined the largest head was his because he was a genius.... he was literally a head in his times!

    • 3 years ago
  • kgp4death
    • 0
      kgp4death  

    • I think we all agree on the next steps. We must dig him up and check it out. Then put him in a funny position when we rebury him.

    • 3 years ago
  • ozoneocean
    • 0
      ozoneocean  

    • This inane fetishising of a 400 or so year old celeb artist has to stop. I'd say this webbed finger thing is a stupid idea and just this fellow's way of making his mark in his field. I suppose Leonardo was Autistic too and has aspergers? Give us all a break!

    • 3 years ago
  • maisry
  • vincius
    • 0
      vincius  
    • Image

    • respone Bombastinator...The hand may disturb you but it not larger than life and you are simply wrong. What you are commenting on is blown up aspect of a note from Leonardo's codex Atlanticus here is the full note with the hand in question highlighted. The fact you don't see it proves nothing but anatomists do and specifically anatomist of the hand. It also the same congenital hand as Leonardo depicted for Christ's left hand in the Last Supper. He said he would do ilussion without mirrors ,,,the hand in the Last Supper just that. It is syndactyly and always been there missed for some human reason...

    • 3 years ago
  • michail77
    • 0
      michail77  

    • There often appears to be correlations between the physical structure of the body and the cognitive. Sometimes these can be traced to fetal development in which a particular part of the brain is developing and the same time as the body structure.

      It a stretch to say it but perhaps, if he was syndactyl, that it could be related to his extreme genius. Just a theory.

    • 3 years ago
  • vincius
    • 0
      vincius  

    • I appreciate all the responses... leonardo depicted syndactyly in the Last Supper and also Madonna Yarnwinder (Lansdowne ). The hand above has now been examined by many of the world;s top anatomists and they agree it is webbed between third and fourth fingers and is same congenital anomaly depicted in Last Supper figure of Christ. The art world assumed the hand above was that of a stroke victim but the fact it useable and hand surgeons and anatomist agree it is syndactyly and definitely not that of stroke victim. take care

    • 3 years ago
  • bombastinator
    • 0
      bombastinator  
    • vincius:

      I spent 15 years drawing for a living and there is nothing webbed about that hand. The pictures are all disturbinly low res and low contrast even though the hand it'self is larger than life sized.

      I'm placing this one with that "alien" from south america that was clearly a dead sloth.

    • 3 years ago
  • bombastinator
    • 0
      bombastinator  

    • Occam's razor implies he merely had an injured or partially paralyzed finger.

      This was before the age of modern medicine. Finger splints, or even decent cut care was non existent. a broken knuckle, or even a badly scarred cut would be enough to reduce motion in his fingers enough to make that method of holding a stylus preferable. And they are much much more common than weird birth defects.

      DaVinci was known to have done black smithing as a young man. Index and middle finger injuries are extremely common for black smiths.

    • 3 years ago
  • bailey78
  • drewsuf721
  • Cooksey
  • vincius
  • maisry
  • vincius
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