LEONARDO AND THE DRAWNINGS OF HYDRAULIC MINES

The universal deluge is a recurring theme in Leonardo’s drawings . Numerous of his illustrations, that document his observation of the whirling motion of waters – spending many years studying the force of liquid masses driven by the wind – were found. In particular, one drawing that, when studied more thoroughly differs from the others for a very specific reason, was found: the devastating effects of water are the result of karstification, which in turn is the outcome of its pressure, capable of tearing away thick layers of rock from a mountain side, hurling them at great distances and consequently causing the implosion of the overlying wall.
The extraordinary evocative force of the drawing, made around 1515 and titled “Study of the deluge” [1]1 is explained by several captions: “Sketch of a deluge illustrating an explosion of rocks whose fragments are enveloped in a whirlwind” or, more specifically “Explosion along the side of a rocky mountain caused by the flow of a vein of water and formation of waves in a lake caused by falling rock fragments” [2].
This is a scientific conclusion rather than artistic imagery is confirmed by a second drawing, of the Codex Atlanticus, preserved at the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, part of a limited group of tables dedicated to the deluge, a “Pencil drawing of the explosion of a mountain side”. […]