The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci Complete


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The shadows in clouds are lighter in proportion as they are nearer  
to the horizon.  
[Footnote: The drawing belonging to this was in black chalk and is  
totally effaced.]  
4
76.  
When clouds come between the sun and the eye all the upper edges of  
their round forms are light, and towards the middle they are dark,  
and this happens because towards the top these edges have the sun  
above them while you are below them; and the same thing happens with  
the position of the branches of trees; and again the clouds, like  
the trees, being somewhat transparent, are lighted up in part, and  
at the edges they show thinner.  
But, when the eye is between the cloud and the sun, the cloud has  
the contrary effect to the former, for the edges of its mass are  
dark and it is light towards the middle; and this happens because  
you see the same side as faces the sun, and because the edges have  
some transparency and reveal to the eye that portion which is hidden  
beyond them, and which, as it does not catch the sunlight like that  
portion turned towards it, is necessarily somewhat darker. Again, it  
may be that you see the details of these rounded masses from the  
lower side, while the sun shines on the upper side and as they are  
not so situated as to reflect the light of the sun, as in the first  
336  


Page
334 335 336 337 338

Quick Jump
1 306 613 919 1225