Shadows and Lights in Nature: Foliage, Sheer Cloth and Hair
Where great darkness cannot form, neither can great brightness — sparse leaves, veils and loose hair
Leonardo answers painters who want dark shadows everywhere: satisfy them in part by placing dark shadows in dark places and light shadows in the open country under universal light. He then states the principle that where shadows of great darkness cannot form, neither can lights of great brightness. This holds in trees of rare, narrow leaves such as willows, brooms and junipers, in transparent cloths like sendals and veils, and in curly, scattered hair, because such bodies compose no perceptible lustres and their small parts sit so close together that luminous air penetrates and evens out both the lit and the shadowed particles, leaving almost no contrast.
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Dark shadows in dark places, light shadows in the open
Some painters want dark shadows in all their works and blame those who do otherwise. They may be satisfied in part by using both dark and light shadows: the dark ones in dark places, the light ones in the open country under universal light.
No great darkness where there is no great brightness
Where shadows of great darkness cannot be generated, neither can lights of great brightness. In such bodies the small parts compose no perceptible lustres, and luminous air penetrates every particle so that the lit and shadowed parts differ almost imperceptibly.
Sparse foliage, sheer cloth and scattered hair
The principle holds in trees of rare, narrow leaves — willows, brooms, junipers and the like — as well as in transparent cloths such as sendals and veils, and in curly, scattered hair, none of which composes strong lustres or dark shadows.