« Le tracé continu des sections coniques à la renaissance : applications optico-perspectives, héritage de la tradition mathématique arabe ». Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 60, 2006, p. 353-377

The author starts by giving a brief overview and description of instruments for tracing conic sections. He then analyses the origin of one such instrument, namely the conic compass, as it first appears in the work of Lorenzo della Volpaia (Florence, 1446-1512) and later with numerous other authors, including Leonardo da Vinci. He argues that earlier conclusions by modern scholars that the compass was a Renaissance invention are unconvincing. On the basis of a careful inspection of a large num...