In this sketch, which is one of the most celebrated works by da Vinci, the artist used mathematics to elaborate the ideal proportions of the human body. According to the calculations, the measure of the length of the open arms of a man is equal to his height, for example.
Leonardo carefully drew the man, known to us as Vitruvian Man, and placed him within two well-known geometric shapes, a circle and a square, a composition that is noteworthy, considering the structure of the drawing. And have you heard of the Golden Ratio? Also known as Divine Proportion, this is a real irrational algebra constant which has the approximate value of 1. That is why it is so fascinating and so celebrated by many Renaissance artists who wanted to revive the ideals of Antiquity but at the same time, they also wanted to ground their art in the scientific evidence.
Mona Lisa , another masterpiece of Leonardo da Vinci, presents the golden proportion in the face and also between the neck-head ratio, which means that the ratio between these parts is 1.
This is due to Da Vinci's interest not only in anatomy but also in mathematics. But the relations between art and math were not only evident in the Renaissance. Modern Art was a fertile field for artworks that were in some way linked to calculations. The Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky , best known for his abstract artworks and for being a Bauhaus teacher, was one of the painters who used mathematics in his creations.
Concentric circles, open and closed lines, triangles. Geometry, in particular, was an element of interest to the artist. This was not surprising, considering that after all the Bauhaus sought precisely to be a school of art and architecture that broadened the idea of art and showed its many possibilities, and therefore Kandinsky's interest in mathematical elements makes total sense.
But Kandinsky was not the only one interested in the geometric abstraction of artistic possibilities. Around , the artist Piet Mondrian produced some compositions that gave rise to Neoplasticism, a vanguard movement that sought to present a new image of art. I began to determine forms: vertical and horizontal rectangles like all forms, try to prevail over each other and must be neutralized by composition.
Ultimately, rectangles are never an end in themselves, but a logical consequence of its determinant lines which are continuous in space and appear spontaneously when the cross is made of vertical and horizontal lines. In the s, American physicist Richard Taylor of the University of Oregon noticed in Pollock's painting a relation to the geometric model of fractals. Fractals are, by definition, figures of non-Euclidean geometry, and generally, refer to a complex geometric structure whose properties are repeated on any scale.
And how are the fractals linked to Pollock's painting? Pollock used a drip technique in his paintings which makes his work seem random. Apparently, we could not be more wrong. Taylor divided the works into squares of various sizes, ranging from 1cm to almost 5m, which showed that actually the geometric pattern repeats. Moreover, while measuring the fractal dimension of the works, Taylor noted that the more Pollock worked on this technique, the greater were the values. Well, I could go on writing examples of flirting between art and mathematics indefinitely because somehow they will always find each other.
I hope that if you, like me, had problems with math, become a little more friendly with the calculations hereafter. We love art history and writing about it. Your support helps us to sustain DailyArt Magazine and keep it running. Rute Ferreira. Art State of Mind. The fun factor. In fact, math is often associated with fear, boredom, and irrelevance.
Adding art to math class makes math less intimidating and more fun, leading to increased interest and causing kids to naturally perform better. Want to share a great resource? Let us know at submissions eschoolmedia.
Username or Email Address. Remember Me. The older I got, the more it sounded like gibberish. Enter computers.
Things started to change quickly when they hit the scene, right? And it fits in your pocket. When these behemoths crashed, the sound was amazing, and the scraps of metal that were flung against the housing were long, incredibly sharp, and smoking. Anyway, the computers changed everything for artists. We all started to work with data in our art forms. Is this familiar to any of you in the graphic design industry? Have you had an interest in computer graphics? Have you seen a film lately with visual effects or animation?
Well, guess what. Some see the world around them and try to create abstractions of the forms in nature in mathematical terms. Some see the world of numbers in isolation, and follow streams of logic, and often leaping into elaborate and beautiful constructions that reside completely in their imagination.
Often they have amazing applications in the real world, and their work fuels the creativity and innovation of others. Since the language is universal, the ideas can be shared across many cultures, each with its own different language.
It is in the application of numbers and that artists get the power to create new and exciting imagery. We use the calculus invented by Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz to control the motion of our characters and creatures. We use Navier Stokes equations to give CG fire and smoke realism and intensity.
When we turn on our computer, it is churning numbers using matrix math.
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