Figure Studies and Solids, with a Note on Ratios
Red-chalk figures and geometric bodies beneath a long draft letter
The upper third of the recto is filled with a long passage of prose in a running hand, apparently a draft letter, which is not part of the supplied transcription. Below it are red-chalk figure studies of nude men, one poised as if crossing a line or wire, and a cluster of pen and chalk sketches of geometric solids at the foot of the sheet: segmented hemispheres, a pyramid, lamp-like bodies and pouches. The only transcribed line is a short note on proportion set among these geometric drawings, comparing a quarter of the double with half of the sub-double.
On this page
A quarter of the double equals half the sub-double
Among the geometric drawings at the foot of the sheet is a note on ratios: the quarter of the double is worth half of the sub-double, and the half of the sub-double is worth ... (the note breaks off).
Red-chalk nude figures
Two or more nude male figures are sketched in red chalk in the middle and right of the sheet, one striding or balancing as if on a line or wire. They are rapid studies of the body in movement.
Geometric solids and lamp-like bodies
The foot of the sheet carries a row of small solids: hemispheres divided into segments, a pyramid, and lamp- or vessel-like bodies, drawn in pen and chalk as studies of form.
Long draft passage of prose at the top (untranscribed)
The top of the sheet bears many lines of running prose, apparently a draft letter addressed to a correspondent. This writing is not included in the supplied transcription and is noted here only from its visible presence.