Marsilio Ficino (1433-99) constantly studied light and shadows. His thinking on the matter turned to questions of Platonic metaphysics, geometric optics, and cosmology, as well as practical experiments. One long-neglected aspect of his reflections on light and shadows is how he repeatedly discussed the nature of pinhole images and camerae obscurae. According to Ficinian reasonings, the camera obscura is not just a dark box that serves as an analogue to Plato’s allegorical cave, it is also an experimental tool that demonstrates the nature of light and shadows. One particularly interesting instance of Ficino's experimental thinking is how he explains that the eye functions like a camera obscura. However important this explanation of the eye might be for understanding Ficino's place in the history of vision, Ficino never detached his thinking about camera obscurae (as well as geometric optics and cosmology more broadly) from metaphysical considerations.
