AR038

The Platonic figures, the ‘supreme expression of the majesty of geometry’, were revered by philosophers and mathematicians of ancient Greece & the Renaissance. The mysterious powers of mathematics and science and its application to art were a favorite study of the quintessential Renaissance man, Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519). His delicately shaded illustrations of polyhedrons appears in Luca Pacioli’s 1509 book De divina proportione. These shapes were thought to be related to the elements: the cube to Earth, tetrahedron to fire, octahedron to air, icosahedron to water, and dodecahedron to heavenly ether. Enjoy the classic beauty and pleasing proportions of these timelessly intriguing shapes.