New research suggests that Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci had a vision condition that greatly aided his ability to depict three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface.

New research suggests that Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci had a vision condition that greatly aided his ability to depict three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface, reports  Ars Technica. Christopher Tyler, a visual neuroscientist with City University of London, says that his research indicates that da Vinci was affected by an intermittent eye misalignment called strabismus.  "When they're in that condition. . .they're only seeing the world monocularly, with much reduced depth cues," Tyler told the Washington Post. "The image they're seeing is much closer to what they want to paint on the canvas."  He also noted that da Vinci was likely able to control the eye that wandered, which would have allowed the artists to "be very aware of the 3-D and 2-D depth cues and the difference between them."  Da Vinci may not have been the only famed artist with the ability to do so, according to CNN. Others who, in relatively recent years, have been diagnosed with that or a similar vision condition include Pablo Picasso, Edgar Degas, and Rembrandt.