Shadow and Darkness; Simple and Compound Shadow
Definitions from the Book of Shadow: darkness, and how simple and compound shadow and light differ
This all-text page continues the Fifth Part of the Treatise on Painting with a chain of definitions. It states that a shadow looks darker the nearer it is to the light, that all shadows share one colour and appear darker on a more luminous ground, and that among equal shadows the nearer one to the eye looks least dark. The remaining chapters distinguish shadow from darkness (tenebre), simple shadow from compound shadow, and compound light from compound shadow, explaining that each compound takes its name from whichever it partakes of more. One rubric is expressly headed 'Painting.'
On this page
Shadow, its colour and its ground
A shadow appears the darker the nearer it lies to the light. All shadows are of one same colour, and the one found on a more luminous ground appears of greater darkness; among shadows of equal quality, the one nearer the eye appears less dark.
Simple versus compound shadow and light
Simple shadow is that where no part of the luminous body can be seen; compound shadow is that where some part of the derivative light mixes within the simple shadow. Compound shadow partakes more of the shadowy than the luminous, compound light more of the luminous than the shadowy, each taking its name from what it shares in more.
The difference between shadow and darkness
Shadow is that in which some part of the luminous or illuminated body can still be seen; darkness (tenebre) is that in which no part of the luminous or illuminated body can be seen, whether by incidence or by reflection. The chapter marked 'Painting' applies these distinctions to the picture.