Light Cones, Cast Shadows, and the Eye
Spheres throwing conical shadows, cones of light, and an eye receiving a cone of rays
This densely illustrated recto sets out the geometry of light and shadow in a row of ink diagrams. Spheres placed between a source and a plane throw shadows that taper to cones, cones of light narrow toward a point, and at the right an eye sends or receives a cone of rays toward a small body; short captions accompany the figures but are not transcribed here. Leonardo's explanatory mirror-script fills the lower half of the leaf and is likewise not transcribed in this bundle. A later hand adds writing at the foot.
On this page
Sphere casting a conical shadow
At the left a sphere set against an upright plane throws a shadow that tapers to a cone. The figure shows how a round body between light and a surface produces a converging shadow.
Cones of light and shade between bodies
Along the top a series of spheres and cones show light narrowing and widening between bodies. The cones cross and meet to mark where illumination and shadow fall.
An eye receiving a cone of rays
At the right an eye is drawn with a cone of rays running from it to a small body. The figure ties the geometry of light and shadow to vision.
Untranscribed light-and-shade text
The lower half of the leaf is filled with mirror-script explaining the diagrams, with a later-hand note at the foot. No transcription is supplied in this bundle.