Studies of Infants Playing with an Animal
Pen studies of nude children embracing a lamb or cat, with a small woman-and-child group above
The sheet is filled with pen studies of nude infants: one seated at the lower left holding a small furry animal against its body, and a second at the lower right clasping a similar creature that twists in its arms. A smaller, rapidly drawn group of a woman bending toward a child appears at the upper right, with faint underdrawings scattered between them. Several lines of Leonardo's mirror-script run across the top of the leaf; that text is not included in this bundle and is not transcribed here.
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Seated infant with an animal
A plump nude child sits at the lower left, its weight settled on one hip, arms wrapped around a small animal held against its chest. The pose is studied carefully with modelling shadow along the limbs and torso.
Lamb or cat in the child's arms
The small animal grasped by each infant is drawn with a soft furry body and short legs, its head turned as it is embraced. Whether it is meant for a lamb or a cat is left ambiguous by the quick handling.
Second infant twisting with the animal
At the lower right a further nude child kneels and turns, clutching the animal which strains away from its grip. The contour is livelier and more summary than the seated figure at the left.
Small group of a woman and child
A tiny, swiftly sketched group at the upper right shows a woman leaning down over a child, drawn in loose exploratory lines. It reads as a compositional idea jotted apart from the larger figure studies.