A Treatise on Painting
by Leonardo da Vinci, translated by John Francis Rigaud
Why reflected Colours seldom partake of the Colour of the Body where they meet
4014763A Treatise on Painting — Why reflected Colours seldom partake of the Colour of the Body where they meetJohn Francis RigaudLeonardo da Vinci

Chap. CCLXXIX.Why reflected Colours seldom partake of the Colour of the Body where they meet.

It happens very seldom that the reflexes are of the same colour with the body from which they proceed, or with that upon which they meet. To exemplify this, let the convex body D F G E be of a yellow colour, and the body B C, which reflects its colour on it, blue; the part of the convex surface which is struck by that reflected light, will take a green tinge, being B C, acted on by the natural light of the air, or the sun.