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LEONARDO DA VINCI (VINCI 1452-AMBOISE 1519)

An allegory with a dog and an eagle

c.1508-10

RCIN 912496

Leonardo’s most highly finished chalk drawing is probably an allegory of devotion to the king of France, depicted as a glorious eagle bestriding the earth. The dog symbolises faithfulness; the fixed compass in turbulent waters is essentially the same as the central emblem in the drawing to the left. Only the tree-mast is mysterious, perhaps a personal device of the unknown patron.
  • watermark: Bull's head (identical to 912643) [-]


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