Abstract

Shadows have long been a central topic in the study of optics. The distinction between partial shadow (or the penumbra) and full shadow has been theorized by Maurolico and Kepler. Shadows are also dealt with in architecture and perspective, because they are directly involved in the rendering of volume and depth. Given his research interests, the subject of shadows was bound to capture the attention of Leonardo da Vinci, and it is known that he paved the way to the tracts on shadows that were appended to perspective treatises from the sixteenh century on…