Monday, June 01, 2020

Math and the Master

The phrase "Renaissance Man" is epitomoized by Leonardo da Vinci, the master of masters, founder of the High Renaissance. Geometry infused Leonardo's work, and was a particular obsession of his (e.g. The Golden Ratio, perspective, knots, fractals).

An article published by The Mona Lisa Foundation goes into some detail about the geometric underpinnings of Leonardo's design thinking.

It begins:

The important relationship of mathematics to art cannot be [overstated] when discussing Leonardo’s later work, and in numerous documents, letters and notes, the relevance of this is well documented. At times, he seems obsessed with these issues: while working on Mona Lisa for example, Leonardo is reported by Fra’ da Novellara to be concentrating intensely on geometry.

“Non mi legga chi non e matematico.”

“Let no one read me who is not a mathematician.”

-- Leonardo da Vinci

[Continue reading here.]

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