Cone rising from a circle to a single point
Untranscribed mirror-script above a visual-pyramid figure
The upper part of this leaf is covered with mirror-script under a short heading, and the bundle provides no transcription, so this text is described only by what is visible. The lower half is dominated by a large geometric figure: a circle from which straight lines rise and converge to a single point above it, forming a cone or visual pyramid. This is the classic construction of rays gathering from a base to an apex, the figure Leonardo uses for vision and for perspective. A Bibliotheque de l'Institut de France stamp marks the sheet.
On this page
Rays converging from a circle to a point
A circle drawn low on the page sends straight lines upward that meet at a single apex, the pyramid by which light or sight is gathered from a spread base to one point. The construction sits directly below the block of text.
Circle and converging straight lines
The figure is built from a circle and a fan of straight lines meeting at a point, a plane construction of a cone or triangle standing on a circular base. Faint marked points sit at the circle's center.