TEN original drawings by Leonardo da Vinci will be exhibited in Hull later this year.

It is hoped the exhibition at Ferens Art Gallery in November will attract similar visitor numbers to those seen at David Hockney's Bigger Trees At Warter show last year.

The Hockney exhibition pulled in more than 63,000 visitors during its three-month run at the gallery in Queen Victoria Square, city centre, making it one of the most popular ever staged there.

The da Vinci drawings are coming to Hull at the end of the national touring exhibition to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Part of the Royal Collection, they are being shown in just four other cities before arriving in Hull.

Jonathan Marsden, director of the Royal Collection, said: "The ten drawings have been chosen to reflect the whole range of Leonardo's activities.

"Though he trained as a painter, he expanded his activities into the fields of sculpture and architecture, engineering, botany, geology, map-making, hydraulics, optics and anatomy.

"His principal tool of investigation was drawing and through hundreds of sheets that survived we can piece together the life and work of the archetypal Renaissance Man."

The drawings include designs for chariots and war weapons, an equestrian monument and a map of coastal marshland 40 miles south of Rome.

The exhibition will also feature the head of an old bearded man in profile, which is thought to have been one of the last drawings made by the artist.

Mr Marsden said: "The exhibition will be a unique opportunity to see some of the most fascinating and accomplished drawings ever produced and to engage first-hand with one of the greatest minds of all time," he said.

"It is our aim that they should be seen and enjoyed by the widest possible range of people while they are in Hull."

Martin Clayton, senior curator of prints and drawings at the Royal Collection, said: "We can often grasp the true nature of Leonardo's intentions only through his drawings."

Councillor Terry Geraghty, cabinet member for culture, said: "We are delighted that the Royal Collection has chosen Hull to be one of the UK venues to show this outstanding exhibition of drawings by Leonardo da Vinci.

"This will be a rare and extraordinary opportunity for local people to see works by one of the world's greatest artists, as part of the city's celebrations of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

"After the success of the Hockey exhibition last year, we think this will really underline the cultural side of Hull and put the city on the map for all the right reasons."

The exhibition, titled Ten Drawings By Leonardo da Vinci, will open to the public at Ferens Art Gallery on November 10 and run until January 20, next year.