How Many Shadows a Body Casts Between Two Lights
Propositions in red chalk and pen on multiple shadows and the angles that darken a wall
The page sets out several propositions on shadow, drawn partly in red chalk and partly in pen. Leonardo notes that a body appears smaller when set against a brighter field, that a shadowy body between two lights casts as many shadows as there are lights (each darker as its opposing light is nearer or stronger), and that a wall is darker or brighter according to the size of the dark or luminous angle striking it. A pen diagram then proves the last point geometrically, with a light m q shining past an obstacle f g onto a wall a e and the light and shadow pyramids growing narrower and darker toward a e. He ends by instructing himself to split the demonstration into two separate figures, one for the shadowy pyramids and one for the luminous.
On this page
A bright field makes a body look smaller
Among bodies alike in size, length, shape and darkness, the one surrounded by a more luminous field will appear smaller.
A body between two lights casts as many shadows
A shadowy body between equal lights casts as many shadows as there are lights, each darker as the light opposite it is nearer to the body. Between two equidistant but unequal lights, the two shadows differ in darkness according to the difference in the lights.
The wall is darkened or lit by the size of the angle
That part of a wall will be darker or brighter which is struck by a larger dark or luminous angle.
Geometric proof on the wall a-e (m q light, f g obstacle)
With a luminous body m q shining past the obstacle f g onto the wall a e, the point a is brightest because its angle a m q is widest; the pyramids b p m and m o c grow narrower and darker toward the wall. The wall is dimmest where the shadowy pyramid outweighs the luminous one, and Leonardo tells himself to split the demonstration into two separate figures.
