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1 of 253523 objects
A cloudburst of material possessions c.1506-12
Black chalk, pen and ink | 11.7 x 11.1 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 912698
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A sketch of a torrent of objects falling to earth from stormclouds – rakes, ladders, lanterns, bagpipes, shears, spectacles and so on. Written below is the lament ‘Oh human misery, how many things you must serve for money’. Leonardo was fond of allegories of human folly, but what might be a straightforward criticism of materialism is here complicated by a lion prowling in the clouds at top left, as yet unexplained. Verso: six lines of household expenses and the fragment of a seventh, not by Leonardo. Melzi's number 184.
Provenance
Bequeathed to Francesco Melzi; from whose heirs purchased by Pompeo Leoni, c.1582-90; Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel, by 1630; probably acquired by Charles II; Royal Collection by 1690
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Black chalk, pen and ink
Measurements
11.7 x 11.1 cm (sheet of paper)
Object type(s)
Featured in
ExhibitionLeonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing: Nationwide
A nationwide exhibition of drawings to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Leonardo's death