It may be surprisingly short, but one could not call it trivial: Leonardo da Vinci's notebook conatins a list of chores including observing a brain and describing the jaw of a crocodile.
The list, written around 1510, will go on show in an exhibition of more than 80 pages from his notebooks at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace next month.
The Royal Collection in London claim that the page in the artist's notebook has never been on display before.
A skull sectioned,1489, in Leonardo da Vinci's
sketch book and right a page from his notebook, including his 'to do'
list, c.1510
On the page, Leonardo reminds himself to obtain a skull, to get his books on anatomy bound, to observe the holes in the substance of the brain and describe the jaw of a crocodile.
It also includes a list of things he needs to get before going on a journey including paper, charcoal and chalk.
Exhibition curator Martin Clayton said: "Like anyone about to undertake a journey, Leonardo is making a list of things to take with him - though alongside everyday items such as shirts, stockings and a towel, he lists his anatomical tools such as forceps, a scalpel and a bone-saw.
"Soon afterwards we know that he was dissecting corpses in the medical school of the University of Pavia, to the south of Milan, and so this packing list may have been drawn up before a journey to Pavia.
"This page is fascinating - Leonardo often covered the pages of his notebooks with observations about anatomy, but this page gives a really personal insight into Leonardo himself."
The papers were probably bought by King Charles II and have been in the Royal Collection since around 1690.
'Leonardo da Vinci: Anatomist' looks specifically at the artist's pioneering scientific studies and notes on the human body
Leonardo, who lived between 1452 and 1519, often wrote in mirror writing, either in an attempt to stop his rivals stealing his ideas. Some believe it was in a bid to hide his scientific theories, often deemed as subversive, from the powerful Roman Catholic Church.
This article originally appeared in : Leonardo da Vinci's 'to-do' list to go on show in London - 11:50AM BST 05 Apr 2012
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