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BLOG: Vision and art
An interesting piece was published this month by CNN: “Rare eye condition was behind da Vinci's genius, research claims.”
This article quotes a recent research investigation that was published in JAMA Ophthalmology, “Evidence that Leonardo da Vinci had strabismus.” The media report as well as the opinion of the researcher open up some questions for optometrists that I would like to explore.
The CNN article made a bit of a leap in the very title of the piece. I was expecting to read about extra or unusual cones or acuity above 20/10 or some other truly rare finding that would lead to visual advantage. The rare condition turned out to be exotropia. Now, I don’t practice in Italy nor do I have the hard numbers on eye care statistics from the 15th century, but I believe that exotropia is a pretty common eye condition.
The research article itself is quite interesting; it examines some of the works of Leonardo da Vinci and presents strong evidence that the famous artist may have had exotropia. The study of drawings, oil paintings, and sculptures seems to show a consistent portrayal of an eye turn.
The aspect of this research over which I struggle is believing that exotropia, although postulated to be intermittent, could somehow be an advantage and contributed to da Vinci’s artistic genius. Many of the patients who struggle with exotropia seem to have weak stereo vision and often lose it at inopportune times, creating problems with driving and sports.
The author of this research is a vision scientist with impeccable credentials and is no stranger to stereo vision. He is the inventor of the random dot stereogram, three-dimensional art that can be appreciated without the use of an instrument. These art forms enjoyed great exposure with the publication of the Magic Eye book series.
We use stereogram images in the rehabilitation of patients with traumatic brain injury, as they help uncouple accommodation and vergence eye movements. Yet I have found that patients with underlying exotropia struggle with these exact tasks.
Tyler postulates that this “... ability to switch to monocular vision ... would perhaps explain his [da Vinci’s] great facility for depicting the three-dimensional solidity of faces and objects in the world and the distant depth-recession of mountain scenes.”
It would seem to me that any artist could gain this perspective and switch to monocular vision by closing one eye. Perhaps most artists had not figured this out in the 15th century and if not, this could explain his genius. Who knew?
As optometrists, we have a unique perspective on vision and vison performance. I invite you to weigh in on this one. Perhaps it will spawn as much debate as “What color is that dress?”
References:
Avramova N. Rare eye condition was behind da Vinci’s genius, research claims. https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/18/health/da-vinci-rare-eye-condition-study-intl/index.html. Updated October 18, 2018.
Ford D. What color is that dress? CNN. Posted February 27, 2015.
Frajerman C, et al. Optometrists weight in on #TheDress. Healio. Posted February 27, 2015.
Tyler CW. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2018;doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2018.3833.