LEONARDO DA VINCI (VINCI 1452-AMBOISE 1519)
Recto: Studies of optics and men in action. Verso: Studies of optics
c. 1508RCIN 919149
On a sheet folded into four pages, Leonardo examines the propagation of light – multiple images passing through an aperture, the shadows cast by a sphere illuminated by two sources, and the optics of the eye. The stooping man in red chalk is by a pupil. The formal layout of the pages indicates that Leonardo is thinking how to present his material in a publishable form.