Leonardo da Vinci and the Invention of Aerial Perspective

Leonardo da Vinci did not only change how we paint. He also changed the way that we look at the world. In this study, Janis Bell here provides new insights into Leonardo's use of color in pictorial space. Leading the reader inside Leonardo's mind, she shows how his insatiable curiosity, erudition, and method of observation transformed painting in profound and lasting ways. Bell demonstrates how the artist's works inspired new ways of thinking about art, and how his approach would influence generations of Italian and French artists for over two centuries. Through clear and engaging analysis of Leonardo's invention and use of aerial perspective, Bell reveals how the investigation of nature, the study of light and shadow, as well as the study of vision gave rise to a radically new pictorial vision that redefined the history of Western art. Her study also provides an accessible introduction to theories of perception and optics as reflected in early modern painting.