Light and shade were of extreme importance to Leonardo as they illuminated and gave description to the world around us and he devoted a great deal of time to studying them. Although artists in Italy were also studying these effects, Leonardo took them to a different level, devising formulas and rules for the effects of light and shade on surfaces and reapplying them to painting in a method known as chiaroscuro in order to acquire tonal qualities which would shape the entire structure of the composition.
