Allegory of Foul Repute, with a River-Bed Profile
Pen allegory that foul fame is born of vice, paired with a red-chalk note on water over a sandbank
A pen inscription declares that nothing is so much to be feared as foul repute, which is born of vices, and it is illustrated by grotesque mounted and animal figures drawn in pen. Below, a red-chalk profile of a river bed carries the observation that after the wave falls over the sandbank the water turns in a contrary motion, so that all the light matter settles in the angle a. The moralising allegory and the water note share the same page.
On this page
Foul repute is born of vice
The pen note states that nothing is so much to be feared as foul repute, and that this foul repute is born of vices. It is a short moral allegory, illustrated by the figures above.
Grotesque mounted and animal figures
The allegory is drawn with pen figures: a horned rider on a plunging beast at the upper right and further animal forms, including a long-eared creature, below. They personify the theme of foul repute.
Contrary motion after the wave falls over a sandbank
The red-chalk profile is labelled a and b. Leonardo notes that the water, after the fall of the wave over the sandbank, makes a contrary motion, and that in the angle a all the light matter remains.