Leonardo da Vinci works on display at Birmingham Museum

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) had wide interests in nature, science and the human body

Drawings by Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci have gone on display in Birmingham.

The exhibition includes "A sheet of miscellaneous studies" which includes details invisible to the naked eye.

As the works are so delicate, they are unlikely to be shown in Birmingham again.

The city's museum and art gallery is one of 12 sites to be hosting Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing, to mark the 500th anniversary of his death.

A sheet of miscellaneous studies is an "extreme example of Leonardo 'thinking aloud' on paper", the Royal Collection Trust said

"A sheet of miscellaneous studies" was sketched in 1490 and features drawings including geometrical diagrams, a sketch of water falling into a pool and clouds.

Works from across da Vinci's life will be on display at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG), including scientific studies, a study for St James in the Last Supper, a study of trees and the light falling on leaves, the head of an old bearded man and a storm overwhelming a landscape.

Detailed drawings of the bones, muscles and tendons of the hand will also be on display

Exhibitions curator Katie Morton said the artist's "genius is truly visible through these drawings".

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Vanessa Remington, senior curator of paintings for the Royal Collection Trust, said it hopes to "bring the genius of Leonardo to as wide an audience as possible in the UK" by having exhibitions in 12 different cities.

The head of an old bearded man is believed to date from 1517

Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing can be seen at Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Derby, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Southampton and Sunderland from Friday until 6 May 2019. Exhibitions will also open in London in May and in Edinburgh in November.