Treatise on Painting: expression, relief, and shadow vs. drawing
Book II — whether movement, colour, relief, or draughtsmanship matters most
A text-only leaf of the second book of the Trattato della pittura, headed SECVNDA and numbered 48. Three short chapters pose comparative questions: whether the movements born of a creature's mental states matter more than its shadows and lights; whether a figure's beauty of colour outweighs its demonstration of relief; and whether shadows and lights are harder to master than good drawing. Leonardo argues that expressive movement is the most important thing in painting, that relief (not colour) is what truly astonishes, and that what is constrained to a limit is harder than what is free.
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Expressive movement as the most important thing in painting
Chapter 122 asks whether the movement created by the diverse mental states of living creatures matters more than their shadows and lights. Leonardo answers that the most important thing to be found in discourses on painting are the movements appropriate to the mental accidents of each creature, such as desire, disdain, anger and pity.
Relief prized above beauty of colour
Chapter 123 asks whether a figure should abound in beauty of colours or in the demonstration of great relief. Leonardo holds that painting alone makes what is nothing appear raised and detached from the wall; colours merely honour the masters who make them, and a thing dressed in ugly colours can still astonish through the appearance of relief.
Which is harder: shading or good drawing
Chapter 124 asks whether shadows and lights or good drawing is more difficult. Leonardo replies that the thing constrained to a limit is more difficult than the thing that is free, and begins to explain that shadows have their limits (the sentence carries over to the next folio).