The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci — Volume 1 by Leonardo da Vinci
page 37 of 445 (08%)
page 37 of 445 (08%)
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34. Why when the eye has just seen the light, does the half light look dark to it, and in the same way if it turns from the darkness the half light look very bright? 35. ON PAINTING. If the eye, when [out of doors] in the luminous atmosphere, sees a place in shadow, this will look very much darker than it really is. This happens only because the eye when out in the air contracts the pupil in proportion as the atmosphere reflected in it is more luminous. And the more the pupil contracts, the less luminous do the objects appear that it sees. But as soon as the eye enters into a shady place the darkness of the shadow suddenly seems to diminish. This occurs because the greater the darkness into which the pupil goes the more its size increases, and this increase makes the darkness seem less. [Footnote 14: _La luce entrera_. _Luce_ occurs here in the sense of pupil of the eye as in no 51: C. A. 84b; 245a; I--5; and in many other places.] 36. ON PERSPECTIVE. |
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