Home / Quotes / Quote by Leonardo da Vinci

Quote by Leonardo da Vinci

“A single and distinct luminous body causes stronger relief in the objects than a diffused light; as may be seen by comparing one side of a landscape illuminated by the sun, and one overshadowed by clouds, and illuminated only by the diffused light of the atmosphere.”

Quote by Leonardo da Vinci

Book:The notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci

Work

The notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci

This compilation represents the surviving written and drawn works of Italy's Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), the celebrated Renaissance polymath known for his contributions to art, science, and engineering. The notebooks, written predominantly in his distinctive mirror script, span thousands of pages and cover an extraordinary breadth of subjects, including human anatomy, botany, zoology, geography, astronomy, mathematics, and mechanical inventions. The documents reveal his systematic approach to observation, his detailed anatomical studies based on dissection, his plans for flying machines, and his ideas about water flow and canal systems. These manuscripts constitute one of the most important primary sources for understanding the intellectual history of the Renaissance period and demonstrate the mind of an artist who viewed science and art as interconnected pursuits. more

Author

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath whose works and ideas had a profound influence on the world. He was a renowned painter, sculptor, inventor, scientist, musician, and engineer. more

You May Also Like

“Very great charm of shadow and light is to be found in the faces of those who sit in the doors of dark houses. The eye of the spectator sees that part of the face which is in shadow lost in the darkness of the house, and that part of the face which is lit draws its brilliancy from the splendour of the sky. From this intensification of light and shade the face gains greatly in relief and beauty by showing the subtlest shadows in the light part and the subtlest lights in the dark part.”

Light Eye Faces Found House Lost Nature Dark Darkness Doors Sky Travel Draws Shadow Gains Charm Relief Shade Lit Spectators Splendour

Book:Notebooks

Source: Notebooks

“The eye transmits its own image through the air to all the objects which face it, and also receives them on its own surface, whence the "sensus communis" takes them and considers them.”

Eye Faces Nature Air Objects Travel Surface Transmit

Book:Notebooks

Source: Notebooks

“I say that the power of vision extends through the visual rays to the surface of non-transparent bodies, while the power possessed by these bodies extends to the power of vision.”

Body Nature Vision Travel Surface Visuals Rays Possessed Transparent

Book:Notebooks

Source: Notebooks

“Of several bodies, all equally large and equally distant, that which is most brightly illuminated will appear to the eye nearest and largest.”

Body Eye Nature Travel

Author:Leonardo da Vinci

“When the sun is covered by clouds, objects are less conspicuous, because there is little difference between the light and shade of the trees and the buildings being illuminated by the brightness of the atmosphere which surrounds the objects in such a way that the shadows are few, and these few fade away so that their outline is lost in haze.”

Way Littles Light Lost Nature Differences Sun Tree Objects Building Travel Shadow Clouds Atmosphere Covered Surround Shade Fades Outlines Brightness Fade Away Haze

Book:The notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci

Source: The notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci

“If you are on the side whence the wind is blowing you will see the trees looking much lighter than you would see them on the other sides; and this is due to the fact that the wind turns up the reverse side of the leaves which in all trees is much whiter than the upper side.”

Ifs Facts Turns Sides Nature Tree Wind Travel Dues Reverse Lighters

Book:Notebooks

Source: Notebooks

“The sun gives spirit and life to the plants and the earth nourishes them with moisture.”

Giving Earth Spirit Nature Sun Travel Plant Moisture

Book:Notebooks

Source: Notebooks

“Nature is so delightful and abundant in its variations that among trees of the same kind there would not be found one which nearly resembles another, and not only the plants as a whole, but among their branches, leaves, and fruit, will not be found one which is precisely like another.”

Whole Found Nature Travel Plant Fruit Branches Delightful Variation

Author:Leonardo da Vinci

“What induces you, oh man, to depart from your home in town, to leave parents and friends, and go to the countryside over mountains and valleys, if it is not for the beauty of the world of nature?”

Ifs Men World Home Parent Nature Mountain Travel Towns Valleys Countryside Beauty Of The World Mountains And Valleys

Book:Notebooks

Source: Notebooks

“... we might say that the earth has a spirit of growth; that its flesh is the soil, its bones the arrangement and connection of the rocks of which the mountains are composed, its cartilage the tufa, and its blood the springs of water.”

Might Earth Spirit Growth Water Nature Blood Rocks Mountain Travel Spring Connections Bones Flesh Soil Arrangements

Book:Da Vinci Notebooks

Source: Da Vinci Notebooks