LEONARDO DA VINCI (VINCI 1452-AMBOISE 1519)
A deluge
c.1517-18RCIN 912378
A drawing of a town at the centre of a vortex, with rocks about to fall and crush it. There are waves and water-spouts encircling it. Above are dark clouds with great curves of water descending from them.
A series of eleven drawings by Leonardo of a mighty deluge are among the most enigmatic and visionary works of the Renaissance. Modest in size and densely worked, each shows a landscape overwhelmed by a vast tempest. Here the storm breaks over a city, destroying a mountain and sending great blocks of stone cascading down onto the buildings. The drawings were probably made for his own satisfaction rather than as studies for any project.
stamp, ER VII, crowned, in oval: Lugt 901