Franciscan saints and their attributes, in a rectangular frame
A rectangle-within-a-rectangle scheme with names of saints and the emblems that identify each.
A drawn rectangle enclosing a second, smaller rectangle sketches the layout of a picture, around which Leonardo has written the names of saints in two columns. Beneath he lists each saint with the attribute that identifies him or her: Anthony with lily and book, Bernardino with the monogram of Jesus, Louis with three lilies on the breast and a crown at his feet, Bonaventure with Seraphim, Clare with the tabernacle, and Elizabeth with a queen's crown. The company is largely Franciscan, suggesting notes toward an altarpiece composition. The page carries the folio number and the Bibliothèque de l'Institut stamp.
On this page
Rectangle within a rectangle as a picture layout
A larger rectangle encloses a smaller inner rectangle, the outer field surrounded by the names of the saints to be shown. The scheme reads as the framing plan for a composition, most likely an altarpiece grouping the saints named around it.
Saints and their identifying emblems
Leonardo pairs each saint with the attribute by which he or she is recognised: Anthony with lily and book, Bernardino with the Jesus monogram, Louis with three lilies on the breast and a crown at his feet, Bonaventure with Seraphim, Clare with the tabernacle, and Elizabeth with a queen's crown. The names include Our Lady, Faustino and Iovita, Paul, and Saints Francis, Clare and Elizabeth.