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A neuroscientist at the City University of London proposes that Leonardo da Vinci may have had exotropia, allowing him to see the world with impaired depth perception. If true, it means that Da Vinci would have been able to see the images he wanted to paint as they would have appeared on a flat surface. The finding reminds us that sometimes looking at the world in a different way can have fantastic results.
An analysis of Renaissance artwork suggests that Leonardo Da Vinci may have had exotropia, a kind of strabismus which causes one of the eyes to be turned outwards, and that the condition may have helped him as a painter by allowing him to switch between three-dimensional and two-dimensional vision. He wouldn’t have been alone, other famous painters who are speculated to have had the condition include Rembrandt and Picasso.
Professor Christopher Tyler of the City University of London’s optometry division analyzed six pieces of Renaissance art by or held to be images of Da Vinci, including the famous Vitruvian Man. By looking at the paintings, drawings, and statues and applying the same techniques optometrists use on patients, Tyler was able to conclude that the eyes of the men depicted were misaligned.
He concluded that, if the images he analyzed were truly reflective of how Da Vinci looked, that the great artist had a mild case of exotropia
Keep reading:
Leonardo da Vinci could visually flip between dimensions, neuroscientist claims
A neuroscientist argues that da Vinci shared a disorder with Picasso and Rembrandt.
bigthink.com