Allegory the nautical wolf and imperious eagle

Leonardo Da Vinci (1515 1516)

Allegory the nautical wolf and imperious eagle - red chalk 

The wolf  would represent a corrupt church navigating a peace loving ship towards the eagle who represents the holy roman emperor. In this case the eagle is a representation of the french king, king Francis I,  and bears a crown decorated with the fleur de lis, which is a common symbol of French heraldry (coats of arms).

This piece could then be a reference to the  Concordat of Bologna agreed upon by Pope Leo X and Francis I in 1516. The agreement allowed the Pope  to collect all the incomes made by the church and provided the king with rights to tithe clerics and appoint archbishops. 


The use of an eagle on a globe would represent the imperial goals of King Francis I who began his reign a year before, in 1515, and brought about the beginning of French exploration in the new world. Da Vinci would have been a fan of the king who was a generous patron of the arts. 

The use of a wolf has negative connotations in terms of catholic religion where symbolically  the church is meant to be protecting its flock of sheep. In this case the wolf  most likely does not represent the pope but the corrupt clergy of church.  

Although the eagle on the globe represents the holy roman emperor - King Francis I never became the holy roman emperor - and the title belonged to Maximilian I beginning in 1519. This could mean Leonardo is referencing the prophesy of the second Charlemagne, in which a french king, contrary to tradition, becomes the holy roman emperor. According the prophesy God would use the king as a instrument to cleanse the church, convert infidels, and gain supremacy over the entire world.