Math in Art & Art in Math

This week’s material made me realize the profound connection between math, art, and science. Parts of the lecture and the papers that I read discussed how artists across centuries have – unknowingly – used mathematical principles to create art, exploring such as dimensions, perspective, symmetry, and proportion. In Relations of Art and Mathematics in The Renaissance, Lei talked about how Brunelleschi – also known as the founding father of Renaissance architecture – influenced artistic techniques such as linear perspectives (Lei 2). Leonardo da Vinci, known for his groundbreaking works in paintings, used the golden ratio and Platonic geometry in works like the Vitruvian Man and Mona Lisa, blending oil painting techniques with scientific proportions (Mona Lisa Foundation). 

Fig. 1. Leonardo da Vinci, “The Vitruvian Man”, The Mona Lisa Foundation, 1487, https://monalisa.org/2012/09/12/leonardo-and-mathematics-in-his-paintings/

A specific concept that I also found interesting was the idea of a fourth dimension. Artists like Salvador Dali and Marcel Duchamp were able to break free from linear perception and visualize spatial abstraction, as seen in works like the Corpus Hypercubicus (Henderson 205-210). The idea of breaking out of dimensions mirrors themes from Flatlands, where dimensions served as confinement for understanding – a metaphor for expanding one’s worldview (Abbott 41-69). 

Fig. 2. Salvador Dali, “Corpus Hypercubus”, God & Math, 1954, https://godandmath.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/dali21.jpg.

I also found it really interesting how the intersection of art and math extended beyond the Renaissance and can also be seen in Islamic Art, Amish quilts, and even Mayan textiles(“Math in Art –– Minneapolis Institute of Art”). All of these artworks use reflection, rotation, and translation to convey meaning, visually.

 

 Fig. 3. Lakota people, “Dress”, Minneapolis Institute of Art, 1880-90, https://new.artsmia.org/programs/teachers-and-students/teaching-the-arts/five-ideas/math-in-art.

Mathematics is not only numbers that are used for calculation but it is also a universal language that mathematicians, scientists, and artists use to express imagination. The interplay between both disciplines allows for abstract concepts to be transformed into visual and emotional experiences.

Works Cited
Abbott, Edwin A. Flatland. 2018.

Henderson, Linda D. The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art. MIT Press, 1984.

Lei, Jiabao. “View of Relations of Art and Mathematics in the Renaissance: The Application of Mathematics in Works of Leonardo Da Vinci.” Drpress.org, 2025, drpress.org/ojs/index.php/EHSS/article/view/19212/18773.

“Math in Art –– Minneapolis Institute of Art.” New.artsmia.org, new.artsmia.org/programs/teachers-and-students/teaching-the-arts/five-ideas/math-in-art.

Mona Lisa Foundation. “Leonardo and Mathematics.” The Mona Lisa Foundation, 12 Sept. 2012, monalisa.org/2012/09/12/leonardo-and-mathematics-in-his-paintings/.