The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci — Volume 1 by Leonardo da Vinci
page 74 of 445 (16%)
page 74 of 445 (16%)
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PERSPECTIVE.
The farther a spherical body is from the eye the more you will see of it. The angle of sight varies with the distance (86-88) 86. A simple and natural method; showing how objects appear to the eye without any other medium. The object that is nearest to the eye always seems larger than another of the same size at greater distance. The eye _m_, seeing the spaces _o v x_, hardly detects the difference between them, and the. reason of this is that it is close to them [Footnote 6: It is quite inconceivable to me why M. RAVAISSON, in a note to his French translation of this simple passage should have remarked: _Il est clair que c'est par erreur que Leonard a ecrit_ per esser visino _au lieu de_ per non esser visino. (See his printed ed. of MS. A. p. 38.)]; but if these spaces are marked on the vertical plane _n o_ the space _o v_ will be seen at _o r_, and in the same way the space _v x_ will appear at _r q_. And if you carry this out in any place where you can walk round, it will look out of proportion by reason of the great difference in the spaces _o r_ and _r q_. And this proceeds from the eye being so much below [near] the plane that the plane is foreshortened. Hence, if you wanted to carry it out, you would have [to arrange] to see the perspective through a single hole which must be at the point _m_, or else you must go to a distance of at least 3 times the height of the object you see. The plane _o p_ |
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