The quality and motion of shadows
Why a shadow moves faster than its body, with the case for equal and unequal speeds
Leonardo opens with the quality of shadows, relating the darkness of generated shadows to the darkness of the colours where they join. He then studies the motion of the shadow: with the light source a immobile, the shadow d always moves faster than the shadowing body b, and the ratio of their velocities equals the ratio of the lengths of their motions. A second diagram works through the variants when the light source moves at, above, or below the speed of the shadowing body.
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Quality of shadows and their darkness
Among equal lightenings of light, the proportion from obscurity to darkness in the generated shadows is the same as the proportion from obscurity to darkness in the colours where those shadows join. Leonardo treats the depth of a shadow as tied to the tone it falls upon.
The shadow d outruns the body b (light a fixed)
With the luminous body a immobile, in equal time the shadowing body b moves to c while the shadow d moves to e. Because velocities in equal time stand as the lengths of motion, the ratio of the shadow's speed to the body's speed equals the ratio b-c to d-e.
Cases when the light source itself moves
If the light source moves as fast as the shadowing body, shadow and body move equally. If the light is faster, the shadow lags behind the body; if the light is slower, the shadow outruns the body.
