Leonardo da Vinci,

Pinhole Cameras

& Mona Lisa Sfumato

Apparently, since there seems to be revisionist history going on by academics and curatorial-types and people such as Frederick Ross in regards to the artists use of the camera throughout history, I have decided to at least try to reveal a few facets of history which often get overlooked and/or purposely ignored. Now, the current arguments/debate about whether the Masters of Old, usedor did not use the camera image, go something like this {on the side of the Masters virginal purity and never stooping to trace the camera image}….The Masters of Old didn’t do it. Case closed. End of story. And this is the side of the academic-know-it-allers who prove their case by saying, “there is no evidence they used the camera in the creation of their art”. Yes, it’s a swell day when you can prop your feet up, close eyes and prove your case by way of doing nothing, except maybe embracing ignorance. How common is that affliction, ignore-itus, these days amongst the supposed academics, probably something along the lines of a widespread plague or two. Anyway, to understand further this history, simply go back a few years or so, say to when mankind noticed they had eyeballs. And since my insights and ideas will be scoffed at by certain brains, let’s just read from someone who might know a thing or two about the subject, J.B. Schriever, Editor in Chief of the Library of Practical Photography, 1909, who writes, “the story of photography is that of a dream come true-fancy transmuted into fact. Whoever was the first to wonder why the image of the summer clouds in a woodland pool, or his face reflected in his shield of burnished copper, might not be fixed there, such a one was, in spirit, the first photographer. Around some such fancy, legends grew, of magic mirrors that would show scenes at a distance, of charmed basins that held, in the water that filled them, grew some pictures. 

Then came the practical people, still under the inspiration of the dream, working it out toward realization, in separate ways, until another, assembling the scattered materials combine them into a step, leading up to the door which at last was reached and opened on the wide and ever widening field.

Combining as it does the practical application of optics, the science of nature, properties and transmission of light and chemistry, which treats of the changes in material bodies arising from alterations in their composition, it must be the case that the early events in the chain leading up to the final achievement have occurred at irregular intervals, and often without their influence or possible bearing being realized or even suspected.

The first definitive stage that we note in the unfolding

and completion of present-day photography, was the invention attributed to the Neapolitan philosopher, Giambattista Della Porta, of the “camera obscura”. This he described in his book on “Natural Magic”, published in 1569. “He admitted a ray of light through a small aperture in the side of an otherwise darkened room, and found that the image of objects on the outside was thrown on the side of the room opposite the aperture, but reversed, top for bottom and left to right. He also found that a double convex lens, placed in the aperture, would make the shapes and colors more distinct. This apparatus is the basis of

all modern photographic cameras”.

And furthermore from Beumont Newhall {1942, Encyclopedia of Photography, page 1996}

“Leonardo da Vinci described the Pinhole Camera in the pages of his private notebooks, written in secret code”. This would have been the late 1400s or so. And further reading from Beumont Newhall, quoting Giovanni Battista Della Porta after describing a camera, concluded

“this will make it possible

for anyone ignorant of the art of painting

to draw with pencil or pen the image of

any object whatsoever”.

This quote is from 1553. And just to point out, cameras were all room sized at this stage. Later in the same article Beumont Newhall states that it was the artist Danielo Barbaro who first mentions the use of a lens with a diaphragm for the Pinhole Camera and that it was Zahn who first described a Portable Camera for the use of drawing projected images in 1665.

And further into this article, Beumont Newhall states,

 “Throughout the 18th century, cameras of this type were used extensively,

especially by unskilled amateurs”.

And just a little more to give one an understanding of the earliest use of cameras. From the Encylopedia of Photography, Arno, 1974 “Camera Obscura, from Chambre Obscure, German, Die Dunkelkammer, literally, Dark Chamber, “an optical instrument invented by Baptista Porta in 1569, although there is evidence of an even earlier knowledge of its principal and properties. This simple instrument depends in principal on the fact that if a tiny hole is made in the shutter of a room from which light is otherwise excluded, a small reversed image of the view outside will, under favorable circumstances,

be thrown on the opposite wall.

This experiment appears to

have been known to philosophers

from time immemorial….”.

So, taking into account some of these historical references, that the history of Pinhole Cameras date back to at least the late 1400s {thanks Leonardo da Vinci} and that logically it could be concluded that this principal predates Leonardo by thousands of years, simply due to the fact that all you need to make a Pinhole Camera is

a hole and a room.

Now it is the contention of Frederick Ross and other like-minded theoreticians that an inventor and artist and genius, such as Leonardo da Vinci, would have never applied the projected light of a Pinhole Camera to aid in the capturing of proportions and likenesses in the creation of any Art, not sketches, not paintings, nothing, no how, no way. Their academic proof is, Their Theory, “the Masters of Old did not use cameras” and this Theory is now a chiseled fact in their synchronized like-minded skulls. Sure, any numbskull can take this point of view, if one throws all logic and common sense out the window. Even Della Porta admits that anyone could now {1553} draw any object whatsoever {with the use of the Pinhole Camera} and with the logic of them Cameras-Are-Evil crowd {because such use would degrade 400+ years of imagined Masters of Old purity of purpose and technique}

they try and pretend that even if the great Leonardo da Vinci,

or any of his contemporary realists or the Masters which followed,

knew of Pinhole Cameras {known to philosophers from time immemorial} they,

being of preordained purity and Ability from Above,

would have never tainted the purity of their calling with such Evil connivances as projected light. Those Masters of Old, even seeing that “anyone ignorant of the art of painting” could outdraw them in perspective and in proportions, the Masters would have remained

Virginally Pure and untainted by the sacrilegious use of the Evil Pinhole Camera.

Yep that’s right, you’re every day shoe salesman Al Bundy-type could outdraw Leonardo, Homer Simpson to could outdraw Leonardo,

any of the Three Stooges or anyone could outdraw, proportionally and in perspective,

better than Leonardo, and yet what would Leonardo da Vinci and all the Masters of Realism done with the Al Bundy-types of the world kicking their ass? Artistically speaking, of course. Well, according to Frederick Ross and other like-narrow-minded types, nothing but stay the course of guesswork and eyeballing and hoping and

never ever touching the Evil Camera.

You see, this logic of the academics is very illogical and nonsensical and suspect. If you haven’t noticed, in this world, sometimes the supposed know-it-allers, the academics, the Governmental Guardians of the “official” Dogma and all the rest of this arcane clan, they take positions which are so preposterous and half-baked, you can’t help but to highlight the far-fetched logic of their theory. This is super common strategy of the revisionists, the cover-uppers, the spin-doctors, the propagandists, etc.,

concoct a Theory, and regardless of how absurd the Theory {official story} is,

stay the course,

independent of common sense, independent of logic, rhyme or reason,

stay the course.

And as mentioned, the course they maintain is the Theory that all Masters of Old were purists to the bitter end, never ever taking advantage of any optical aids to upgrade their abilities and their Art, and though David Hockney {book, Secret Knowledge} has pointed out evidences of camera usage by the Masters of old, neither commonsense, logic or the evidence gathered by David Hockney will be allowed to tamper with or affect their

Ironclad Theory.

Of course, my opinion is that, more than likely, all of the Masters would have taken advantage of the optical aids in acquiring more exacting delineations of proportion and perspective. I mean really, what kind of Master of Art would allow the stumbling, fumbling Al Bundy-types of the world to kick their artistic ass? Would not happen. I mean would Leonardo, having written secretly about the Pinhole Camera, said yes, a perfect projection of reality is seen on a flat wall and I as an inventor, genius and Master of Art will not sully my abilities as an artist and actually USE this optical aid. I’ll just let the shoe cobbler down the street use this newfangled Pinhole contraption and trace a superior reality compared to my eternal guesswork and approximations. Does that sound logical? Hardly. But that is the logic of Frederick Ross and all the rest of the academic-narrowed-realm-of-reasoning types.

Now, since we’re on this subject of Leonardo da Vinci and techniques and cameras, I thought I will now elaborate on a concept, a technique, by Leonardo da Vinci,

n a m e l y,  S f u m a t o .

For whatever reason, I just came to understand what the definition of this technique entails, which is to say the softening of all edges in an art artwork. ”Having vague outlines and colors and shades so blended as to give a misty appearance, said of a painting”. {1913 Webster’s dictionary} Just two days ago I came across this word and realized this Sfumato technique is exactly the technique I have been using in my works of realism

for better than 30 years.

I had no idea there was a name given to this technique and my technique differs in that I add the softened edges so subtly that hardly one person in a 1000 would have recognized this ever so subtle blending of tones, even extreme contrasts would have all received this Sfumato shading technique, meaning, even if there was a pure black right next to absolute white, I would add a softening of the edges, usually using a 4H lead.

Since this is extremely new to my understanding, namely that this technique has been employed going back at least to Leonardo da Vinci, I’ve reflected on just why I added softened edges to all merging tones and shapes etc.. I mean, in reality, the one most everyone sees every day, there is no such appearance or characteristics at all, none. All edges are sharp and crisp and there is no smoky veil diffusing such sharp edged reality anywhere, so more than likely my softening of all edges was a reflection of the characteristics exhibited in the printed image, either in a book or as exhibited in certain photographic mediums, such as tintypes, cabinet cards, CDV’s, glass negatives, etc., so, more than likely this is where my foundational Sfumato technique originated.

As such, I’ve been wondering where did Leonardo come up with this idea which he began incorporating into such works as the Mona Lisa. Leonardo’s description of Sfumato is ”without lines our borders or beyond the focus plane”. {Wikipedia} Now I am sure a few of you are ahead of me in where I am going, but if anyone takes into account that Leonardo was well-versed and familiar with the Pinhole Camera

{which in the 1400-1500s was ROOM sized}

and also take into account the well-known characteristic of Pinhole Photographs

{all edges softened and having a misty, hazy appearance}

then you may begin to understand just where this Sfumato technique by Leonardo da Vinci originated. That’s right, inside the camera, the camera Leonardo was standing in,

meaning the projected pinhole image which universally have all the characteristics of

being smoky, fogged and always have softened edges.

That’s right, what I am saying is, not only did Leonardo trace the likeness of the patron/sitter/person, to acquire a more exacting proportions reflective of reality, he also, more than likely, observed the characteristics of a Pinhole image {possibly the Camera Obscura} and attempted to duplicate these characteristics in his famous works of art, including the Mona Lisa. Now this is not rocket science nor far-fetched logic going on here to deduce the originations of Leonardo’s SFUMATO technique. On the one hand, Leonardo wrote of the Pinhole Camera in his own journal and on the other hand you have a technique applied by Leonardo which imitates perfectly the softened edges of a Pinhole Camera image, and walla, there’s your answer. Of course, Frederick Ross and other like-minded simpleton-theory-o-ticians are rolling around laughing at such a simple concept, which apparently has never been recognized, which was arrived at by logic and common sense. You see, these good old boy guardians of Officialdom, only arrive at answers if pre-approved and never independently because that would take an independent mind, which apparently

has been on vacation for a while.

So just to summarize,

Leonardo da Vinci was a cameraman,

his work and his journals prove it and if the camera image was good enough for Leonardo, who else in the realm of acclaimed Masters also partook in such use of optical aids to assist in Realistically capturing Reality? Now I just finished taking a quick look online at who invented the Sfumto technique, and as far as I can tell, most everyone credits Leonardo da Vinci. Also, from what I can tell online, there seems to be only one article on how Leonardo invented Sfumato, but not a single website offered this page for reviewing, so alas, I am not sure what conclusions this writer OLSZEWSKI came too. Of course, what I have surmised about this Sfumato technique, by Leonardo, is that it is directly related to the Pinhole Camera, because if you haven’t noticed,

the exact definition of Sfumato

is an exact description of a Pinhole Camera image.

Am I really the first one to take note of this and connect the dots? Possibly.

Let’s cover a few points about myself which may have contributed to my connecting these dots, namely, Leonardo’s Sfumato technique and Pinhole Cameras, and the 1st point would be that I am a photorealist artist who is on a mission to pass all others in technique, the 2nd point, I purchased an antique camera museum 30 years ago and am very familiar with the history and use of all formats of early cameras, including pinhole cameras. I suppose these two points don’t necessarily make me the world’s leading authority on the history of camera usage by artists, but would lend credence to the possibility that I may have solved the riddle of just how Leonardo da Vinci came up with this technique in the first place.