I begin with a question: in Leonardo’s famous Adoration of the Magi at what distance is the observer from the temple in ruins? The main clue we have to find the answer is the preliminary sketch of the temple, but it is not the one he transferred to the painting. I believe that Leonardo most likely drew another sketch; a sketch that somehow has been lost without leaving a trace. Based on the painting, I have deconstructed the perspective of the temple to see what Leonardo’s missing sketch might have looked like. Recently, multispectral imaging studies have made visible many of the underlying lines of the sketch and painting. However, here we discuss some aspects of the preparatory sketch that have not been yet thoroughly analyzed. The knowledge of perspective was in the making at the time Leonardo drew the sketch, so the way I see the sketch’s flaws shows the way new rules of perspective were found in practice. We are also able to tell here at which distance and height one has to stand to best view the painting correctly.

中文翻译：

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列奥纳多为麦琪的崇拜而丢失的素描

我从一个问题开始：在列奥纳多著名的贤士崇拜中，观察者距离废墟寺庙多远？我们要找到答案的主要线索是寺庙的初步草图，但不是他转移到画中的那个。我相信列奥纳多很可能画了另一幅草图；不知何故丢失而没有留下痕迹的草图。根据这幅画，我解构了寺庙的透视图，看看达芬奇丢失的草图可能是什么样子。最近，多光谱成像研究使草图和绘画的许多潜在线条变得可见。但是，我们在这里讨论尚未彻底分析的准备草图的某些方面。在列奥纳多画草图的时候，透视知识就在酝酿之中，所以我看到草图缺陷的方式表明在实践中发现了新的透视规则。我们还可以在这里告诉人们必须站立的距离和高度才能最好地正确观看这幅画。