126

Of the various kinds of light.

HOW THERE ARE 2 KINDS OF LIGHT, ONE SEPARABLE FROM, AND THE OTHER INSEPARABLE FROM BODIES.

Separate light is that which falls upon the body. Inseparable light is the side of the body that is illuminated by that light. One is called primary, the other derived. And, in the same way there are two kinds of shadow:—One primary and the other derived. The primary is that which is inseparable from the body, the derived is that which proceeds from the body conveying to the surface of the wall the form of the body causing it.

Taken from The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci edited by Jean Paul Richter, 1880.

II * IV
Notebooks of Leonoardo da Vinci
III: Six books on Light and Shade.
. . .
Prolegomena.
110
Scheme of the books on Light and shade.
111
Different principles and plans of treatment.
112,
113,
114,
115,
116
Different sorts of light.
117,
118
Definition of the nature of shadows.
119,
120,
121,
122
Of the various kinds of shadows..
123,
124,
125
Of the various kinds of light.
126,
127
General remarks.
128,
129
On the nature of light.
130,
131
The difference between light and lustre.
132,
133,
134,
135
The relations of luminous to illuminated bodies.
136
Experiments on the relation of light and shadow within a room.
137,
138,
139,
140
Light and shadow with regard to the position of the eye.
141,
142,
143,
144,
145
The law of the incidence of light.
146
. . .