River Bed and a Cascade Carving the Bank
Swift water hides the bed below; a falling cascade hollows a grotto beneath the bank
The page pairs two brush-drawn studies of moving water with notes on flow and scour. The first note observes that where water becomes swift its impetus prevents one from discerning the features of the various riverbeds. The second, keyed to a line a–b, explains that where a cascade falls it strikes and hollows out beneath the bank, cutting a cavity in the shape of a grotto. Further untranscribed lines fill the upper left of the sheet.
On this page
Swift water conceals the riverbed
Where the water becomes swift, its impetus does not allow one to discern the features of the various riverbeds. The turbulence of the surface hides the profile of what lies below.
A cascade hollows a grotto below the bank (a–b)
The line a b stands for an oblique line running crosswise across the river. Through it the falling water strikes and hollows out beneath the bank, carving a cavity in the shape of a grotto.
Two studies of flowing and eddying water
Two pen studies show water in motion: an upper current breaking into swirling turbulence and a lower stream sweeping across the sheet. Loose letter marks label points along the flow.