Eye disorder may have helped Da Vinci's art: journal | Other news - Phys.Org

A common eye disorder may help explain Leonardo Da Vinci's talent for three-dimensional representation and the sense of perspective in his mountain landscapes, according to research published in an academic journal, explains Phys.Org.

A study in the JAMA Opthalmology journal suggests a common eye disorder may have helped Leonardo Da Vinci's art.

The study looked at two sculptures, two oil paintings and two drawings by the Renaissance master which it said showed "a consistent exotropic strabismus angle of -10.3 degrees".

Exotropic strabismus is a form of eye misalignment and is the opposite of crossed eyes, or esotropia. A misalignment of 10.3 degrees would be considered a medium level.

People with strabismus often have monocular instead of binocular vision, meaning that both eyes are used separately thereby increasing the field of view and depth perception.

"The presence of exotropia, particularly if it was intermittent, may have contributed to da Vinci's exceptional ability to capture space on the flat canvas," according to the research published in the JAMA Ophthalmology journal this month...

Da Vinci, who lived between 1452 and 1519, was an Italian polymath whose interests ranged from art to engineering and natural science.
Read more... 

Additional resources 
Evidence That Leonardo da Vinci Had Strabismus. JAMA Ophthalmol. October 18, 2018. DOI: 10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2018.3833 , https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/article-abstract/2707245

Source: Phys.Org