Leonardo Studies I: Linear Perspective and Visual Dimensions of Science and Art
This is the first comprehensive treatment of Leonardo da Vinci's writings on linear perspective. The author outlines the ancient and medieval background and assesses the contributions of 15th-century authors such as Alberti, Filarete, Francesco di Giorgio Martini, Piero della Francesca and Luca Pacioli.
With photographs of models and three-dimensional diagrams he is able to explain Leonardo's often cryptic two-dimensional sketches. Through experimental reconstructions carried out with the distinguished Leonardo scholar Dr. Kenneth D. Keele, he establishes that da Vinci was the first to demonstrate quantitatively the laws of linear perspective. With the patience of a detective he traces the steps that led from simple surveying experiences to a complex method of spatial demonstration.
A basic argument of the book is that perspective is not simply a means of copying reality but rather a method serving to build bridges between geometry and nature. Three aspects of this process are described, namely, how Leonardo uses perspective to make three-dimensional models of: (1) the regular solids and other geometrical figures, (2) organic objects in Nature, and (3) abstract concepts of physics such as heat and force.
Perspective, the author concludes, transformed Leonardo's approach and changed the direction of Renaissance art and science. Some of its wider philosophical and cultural implications he explores in an epilogue.
