Week 2: Art & Math

The quote by Buckminster Fuller,  “Everyone is born a genius, but the process of living de-geniuses them”, really resonated with me because I remember growing up having horrible math teachers which made me always lean more towards the arts. I always considered art and math more separate, but this week watching lectures I know that I greatly overlooked the important role that math plays in art.

Through learning about perspective and the golden ratio, I saw how math can help artists with intricate pieces. A few examples throughout history are the Last Supper, the Pantheon, and the Great Pyramids. The Last Supper uses a vanishing point to bring the audience in and make the art look more realistic. The Vanishing Point Theorem or "one point perspective" explains how two lines can have the same vanishing point if they are parallel in the real world but not parallel in the art piece itself (Franz). In the Mona Lisa, the golden mean can be applied as if one draws a rectangle over her face and divides, there would be another perfect rectangle that can keep being replicated (Leonardo DaVinci and the Golden Section). Without the use of math in these famous artworks, they may not have the same praise as they do today.



While reading Hendersons’ piece, I learned about the use of non-Ecludian geometry and the fourth dimension in art. Artists express this fourth dimension by showing motion, time, and movement. An example is Pereira’s work on Oblique Progressions uses different lines, lights, and spaces “relying both on spatial clues and upon various patterns of reflecting light (Henderson 4). Oblique progression to me perfectly mixes art and math by seeing the shapes arranged beautifully and jumping off the page with various shading techniques.





Bailey, Jennifer. “Mona Lisa Golden Mean.” 99 Designs , https://99designs.com/blog/tips/the-golden-ratio/. Accessed 8 Apr. 2022. 

Franz, Mark. Lesson 3: Vanishing Points and Looking at Art - Cs.ucf.edu. 2000, https://www.cs.ucf.edu/courses/cap6938-02/refs/VanishingPoints.pdf. 

Glendelman, Vladmir. “How to Use the Golden Ratio to Create Gorgeous Graphic Design.” Company Folders, 15 Sept. 2015, https://www.companyfolders.com/blog/golden-ratio-design-examples. Accessed 8 Apr. 2022. 

Henderson, Linda Dalrymple. “The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion.” Leonardo, vol. 17, no. 3, 1984, p. 205., https://doi.org/10.2307/1575193. 

“Leonardo DaVinci and the Golden Section.” Math Central, http://mathcentral.uregina.ca/beyond/articles/Art/DaVinci.html. 

“Mathematics-pt1- ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.” UC Online, 9 Apr. 2012, Accessed 9 Apr. 2022. 

Mauney, Anna Claire. “The Golden Ratio Revealed in 7 Masterpieces.” Art & Object, 6 July 2021, https://www.artandobject.com/slideshows/golden-ratio-revealed-7-masterpieces. 

“Oblique Progression.” Irene Rice Pereira Bibliography , http://www.irenericepereira.com/bibliography. Accessed 8 Apr. 2022. 

Pereira, Rice. “I. Rice Pereira: Oblique Progression.” I. Rice Pereira | Oblique Progression | Whitney Museum of American Art, https://whitney.org/collection/works/1645. 

“The Last Supper Vanishing Point.” Pinterest , https://www.pinterest.com/pin/87398048993279552/. Accessed 8 Apr. 2022. 


Comments

  1. Alexandra ChanApril 10, 2022 at 1:21 AM

    Hi Megan! I appreciate how you opened your blog post with a personal anecdote. I feel like many people can relate to your opinion, and an experience like that allows us to reflect on how our own personal experiences can really alter our perspectives -- as we have seen with this week's materials. I also spoke about the Mona Lisa in my post, I think it is definitely one of the major paintings that demonstrate this math and art relationship, but also agree with your statement on how some art pieces would not be as notable without that influence of mathematics.

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  2. Hannah PalmerApril 10, 2022 at 11:18 PM

    I like what you had to say, Megan! Growing up, I had alright math teachers but even better art teachers, so that also made me want to lean more towards the art side as well. I think that it is interesting how there are all these works of art, such as the Last Supper pictured in your post, that have these elements to them that trick the human eye and we do not really realize it, such as vanishing points. With the Mona Lisa, do you think de Vinci meant to use the golden ratio, or do you think it is just a coincidence?

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