The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci Complete


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A diminished object should be seen from the same distance, height  
and direction as the point of sight of your eye, or else your  
knowledge will produce no good effect.  
And if you will not, or cannot, act on this principle--because as  
the plane on which you paint is to be seen by several persons you  
would need several points of sight which would make it look  
discordant and wrong--place yourself at a distance of at least 10  
times the size of the objects.  
The lesser fault you can fall into then, will be that of  
representing all the objects in the foreground of their proper size,  
and on whichever side you are standing the objects thus seen will  
diminish themselves while the spaces between them will have no  
definite ratio. For, if you place yourself in the middle of a  
straight row [of objects], and look at several columns arranged in a  
line you will see, beyond a few columns separated by intervals, that  
the columns touch; and beyond where they touch they cover each  
other, till the last column projects but very little beyond the last  
but one. Thus the spaces between the columns are by degrees entirely  
lost. So, if your method of perspective is good, it will produce the  
same effect; this effect results from standing near the line in  
which the columns are placed. This method is not satisfactory unless  
the objects seen are viewed from a small hole, in the middle of  
which is your point of sight; but if you proceed thus your work will  
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Page
385 386 387 388 389

Quick Jump
1 306 613 919 1225