Scientist, painter, mechanical engineer, sculptor, thinker, city planner, storyteller, musician, architect — Leonardo da Vinci, builder of the first flying machine, was one of the great universal geniuses of Western civilization. His voluminous notebooks, the great storehouse of his theories and discoveries, are presented here in 1566 extracts that reveal the full range of Leonardo's versatile interest: all the important writings on painting, sculpture, architecture, anatomy, astronomy, geography, topography, and other fields are included, in both Italian and English, with 186 plates of manuscript pages and many other drawings reproduced in facsimile size. The first volume, which contains all of Leonardo's writings on aspects of painting, includes discussions of such basic scientific areas as the structure of the eye and vision, perspective, the science of light and shade, the perspective of disappearance, theory of color, perspective of color, proportions and movements of the human figure, botany for painters, and the elements of landscape painting. A section on the practice of painting includes moral precepts for painters and writings on composition, materials, and the philosophy of art. The second volume contains writings on sculpture, architecture (plans for towns, streets, and canals, churches, palaces, castles, and villas, theoretical writings on arches, domes, fissures, etc.), zoology, physiology (including his amazingly accurate theories of blood circulation), medicine, astronomy, geography (including has famous writings and drawings on the movement of water), topography (observations in Italy, France, and other areas), naval warfare, swimming, theory of flying machines, mining, music, and other topics. A selection of philosophical maxims, morals, polemics, fables, jests, studies in the lives and habits of animals, tales, and prophecies display Leonardo's abilities as a writer and scholar. The second volume also contains some letters, personal records, inventories, and accounts, and concludes with Leonardo's will. The drawings include sketches and studies for some of Leonardo's greatest works of art — The Last Supper, the lost Battle of Anghiari, The Virgin of the Rocks, and the destroyed Sforza monument.

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I. PROLEGOMENA AND GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK ON PAINTING
Clavis Sigillorum and Index of Manuscripts.?The author's intention to publish his MSS.
The preparation of the MSS. for publication
Admonition to readers
The disorder in the MSS
Suggestions for the arrangement of MSS. Treating of particular subjects
General introduction to the book on painting
The plan of the book on painting
The use of the book on painting
Necessity of the theoretical knowledge
The function of the eye
Variability of the eye
Focus of sight
Differences of perception by one eye and by both eyes
The comparative size of the image depends on the amount of light
II. LINEAR PERSPECTIVE
General remarks on perspective
The elements of perspective:?of the point
Of the line
The nature of the outline
Definition of perspective
The perception of the object depends on the direction of the eye
Experimental proof of the existence of the pyramid of sight
The relations of the distance point to the vanishing point
How to measure the pyramid of vision
The production of the pyramid of vision
Proof by experiment
General conclusions
That the contrary is impossible
A parallel case
"The function of the eye, as explained by the camera obscura"
The practice of perspective
Refraction of the rays falling upon the eye
The inversion of the images
The intersection of the rays
Demonstration of perspective by means of a vertical glass plane
The angle of sight varies with the distance
Opposite pyramids in juxtaposition
On simple and complex perspective
The proper distance of objects from the eye
The relative size of objects with regard to their distance from the eye
The apparent size of objects defined by calculation
On natural perspective
III. SIX BOOKS ON LIGHT AND SHADE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
Prolegomena
Scheme of the books on light and shade
Different principles and plans of treatment
Different sorts of light
Definition of the nature of shadows
Of the various kinds of shadows
Of the various kinds of light
General remarks
FIRST BOOK ON LIGHT AND SHADE.
On the nature of light
The difference between light and lustre
The relations of luminous to illuminated bodies
Experiments on the relation of light and shadow within a room
Light and shadow with regard to the position of the eye
The law of the incidence of light
SECOND BOOK ON LIGHT AND SHADE.
Gradations of strength in the shadows
On the intensity of shadows as dependent on the distance from the light
On the proportion of light and shadow
THIRD BOOK ON LIGHT AND SHADE.
Definition of derived shadow
Different sorts of derived shadows
On the relation of derived and primary shadow
On the shape of derived shadows
On the relativity intensity of derived shadows
Shadow as produced by two lights of different size
The effect of light at different distances
Further complications in the derived shadows
FOURTH BOOK ON LIGHT AND SHADE.
On the shape of cast shadows
On the outlines of cast shadows
On the relative size of cast shadows
Effects on cast shadows by the tone of the back ground
A disputed proposition
On the relative depth of cast shadows
FIFTH BOOK ON LIGHT AND SHADE.
Principles of reflection
On reverberation
Reflection on water
Experiments with the mirror
Appendix:?On shadows in movement
SIXTH BOOK LIGHT AND SHADE.
The effect of rays passing through holes
On gradation of shadows
On relative proportion of light and shadows
IV. PERSPECTIVE OF DISAPPEARANCE
Definition
An illustration by experiment
A guiding rule
An experiment
On indistinctness at short distances
On indistinctness at great distances
The importance of light and shade in the Prospettiva de' perdimenti
The effect of light or dark backgrounds on the apparent size of objects
Propositions on Prospettiva de' perdimenti from MS. C.
V. THEORY OF COLOURS
The reciprocal effects of colours on objects placed opposite each other
Combination of different colours in cast shadows
The effect of colours in the camera obscura
On the colours of derived shadows
On the nature of colours
On gradations in the depth of colours
On the reflection of colours
On the use of dark and light colours in painting
On the colours of the rainbow
VI. PERSPECTIVE OF COLOUR AND AERIAL PERSPECTIVE
General rules
An exceptional case
An experiment
The practice of the Prospettiva de' colori
The rules of aerial perspective
On the relative density of the atmosphere
On the colour of the atmosphere
VII. ON THE PROPORTIONS AND ON THE MOVEMENTS OF THE HUMAN FIGURE
Preliminary observations
Proportions of the head and face
Proportions of the head seen in front
Proportions of the foot
Relative proportions of the hand and foot
Relative proportions of the foot and of the face
Proportions of the leg
On the central point of the whole body
The relative proportions of the torso and of the whole figure
The relative proportions of the head and of the torso
The relative proportions of the torso and of the leg
The relative proportions of the torso and of the foot
The proportions of the whole figure
The torso from the front and back
Vitruvius' scheme of proportions
The arm and head
Proportions of the arm
The movement of the…