Math Awareness Month: April, 2003

Mathematics and Art

Reproduced with permission from Drexel University, copyright 2003 by The Math Forum @ Drexel. All rights reserved.

 
Mathematics Awareness Month is held in April each year, with a goal of increasing public understanding of and appreciation for mathematics. Each year, a theme is selected for the month; this year's theme focuses on the connections between mathematics and art.

The connection between mathematics and art goes back thousands of years. The ancient Greeks and Romans used mathematics in sculptures and to design aesthetically pleasing buildings. In the 15th century Leonardo da Vinci wrote “Let no one read me who is not a mathematician.” In the 16th century Durer employed mathematics to introduce perspective in drawings. In the 18th and 19th centuries mathematics was extensively used in the design of Gothic cathedrals, Rose windows, mosaics and tilings. In the 20th century geometric forms were fundamental to the cubists and many abstract expressionists. In recent decades several award winning sculptors have used topology as the basis for their pieces. The close connection between mathematics and art is most readily seen in the works of the Dutch artist M. C. Escher. Among the mathematical ideas represented in his work are: infinity, Möbius bands, tessellations, deformations, reflections, Platonic solids, spirals, symmetry, and the hyperbolic plane. The pattern above was inspired by one of Escher’s hyperbolic prints.