Week 2 | Math + Art | Maya Srinivasan

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 Math and art are connected and overlap in ways that we may not notice or appreciate entirely. The lecture for this week focuses on these connections and explores how important math is to artists. We can also see how math builds a bridge between the arts and sciences. It's noted that algebra and geometry play an immense role in art through proportions/perspectives, which are transmitted from a painting to the human eye by pyramidal lines. Additionally, the lecture mentions that Leonardo da Vinci discovered two types of perspectives in art, artificial and natural, with the latter focusing on the importance of angles. 

Linda Henderson's "The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art," provided more insight as to how art and math are connected as she notes that Einstein's Theory of Relativity impacted artists' usage of the fourth dimension within art. Because of this discovery, some used the fourth dimension as a "symbol of liberation," with artists such as André Breton incorporating geometry into his surrealist works (Henderson 207). 


Poème Objet by André Breton

One artist that stands out the most to me, in terms of combining these two subjects, is Leonardo da Vinci. In his works, da Vinci utilized mathematical theories and formulas in the form of the Golden Ratio (sometimes referred to as the Divine Proportion). National Geographic defines this term as "a unique mathematical relationship" where the ratio of a sum of numbers is divided by the larger number and is equal to the ratio of the larger number divided by the smaller number (Caryl-Sue). The Fibonacci Sequence was also used by da Vinci, in paintings such as The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, to create a Golden Spiral and guided the artist into perfecting his proportions. 

  
                                        The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci (with the Golden Spiral outlined)                                    



The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci

After reviewing the materials given this week, and doing some research on my own, I believe that the juxtaposition between math, art, and science can be explained by a lack of understanding regarding each subject. One may believe that each of these fields has nothing to do with the other when in reality, they are used in conjunction every day. It is so interesting to see how far we have come (when combining science with art) and I look forward to seeing future advancements.                                     





References: 

Breton, André. “Poème Objet [Poem-Object].” National Galleries of Scotland, National Galleries of Scotland, 2021, https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/28925. 

Cascone, Sarah. “Leonardo Da Vinci Made a Secret Copy of 'The Last Supper' and, Miraculously, It Still Exists.” Artnet News, Artnet News, 24 Mar. 2018, https://news.artnet.com/art-world/leonardo-da-vinci-last-supper-copy-1247756. 

Henderson, Linda Dalrymple. Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art. MIT Press, 2018. 

Keller, Eric. “Mona Lisa.” The Fibonacci Sequence, https://thefibonaccisequence.weebly.com/mona-lisa.html. 

“Leonardo and Mathematics.” The Mona Lisa Foundation, The Mona Lisa Foundation, 9 Aug. 2018, http://monalisa.org/2012/09/12/leonardo-and-mathematics-in-his-paintings/. 

Meisner, Gary, et al. “Divine Proportion/Golden Ratio in the Art of Da Vinci.” The Golden Ratio: Phi, 1.618, 8 Nov. 2020, https://www.goldennumber.net/leonardo-da-vinci-golden-ratio-art/. 

National Geographic Society. “The Golden Ratio.” National Geographic Society, 16 Nov. 2012, https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/golden-ratio/. 

Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov.” YouTube, UC Online, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/?gl=ES. 


Comments

  1. Nick McLainApril 6, 2022 at 6:46 AM

    Hi Maya I really enjoyed reading your blog this week. I think it is very interesting how art, science and math all connect in someway. "Linda Henderson's "The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art," provided more insight as to how art and math are connected as she notes that Einstein's Theory of Relativity impacted artists' usage of the fourth dimension within art." This quote is a good example what made people realize that these subjects are all kind of the same in a way. These subjects all have a little bit of one another in them which makes it extremely valuable.

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  2. UnknownApril 10, 2022 at 5:31 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. Kaushik NareshApril 10, 2022 at 5:36 PM

    I definitely agree with you that Leonardo Da Vinci stood out the most out of this week's content. I never knew about the impact and contributions he made with regards to the confluence of math and art. As a math major, it was particularly interesting to see the way that concepts such as the golden ratio were used by artists. As for the juxtaposition of math, art, and science and the lack of understanding of each subject, I feel like it is possible that these misunderstandings stem from the biases that society has ingrained into people. For example, if you are good at science, you are advised to not "waste" time on art and vice versa. This has perhaps caused people to ignore the overlap between these fields even when it is right in front of them.

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