White-and-Black Relief; Why Painting Looks Larger Than Sculpture
Treatise on Painting: clothe figures in light colours; the paragone of painting and relief
A text page of Part Three (headed 'TERZA') continuing Leonardo's theory of relief. It advises the painter to dress figures in the lightest colours possible, since dark garments show little difference between lights and shadows and so little relief from a distance. It then opens a demonstration of why, of two things of equal size, the painted one appears larger than the same thing carved in relief, arguing from the converging visual lines of perspective.
On this page
Clothe figures in the lightest colours
The precept reminds the painter that a thing painted in white and black shows better relief than any other, and to dress figures in the brightest colours possible. Dark garments give little relief and little visibility from afar, because the shadows of all things are dark and a dark cloth shows scant difference between light and shade, whereas light colours show great difference.
Why a painted figure looks larger than the same in relief
Leonardo takes up why, of two things of equal size, the painted appears larger than the one in relief. He argues that diminishing perspective makes distant things shrink; the visual lines between object and eye all cut at one same boundary on the painting's surface, whereas the lines to a sculpture are of various lengths, so the more distant members of the relief appear smaller and reduce the whole.