Math and the Mona Lisa: The Art and Science of Leonardo da Vinci

Math and the Mona Lisa sees the transcendant unity of art and science in almost every aspect of Leonardo's life and work. Atalay seeks the consilience of science and art—painting, architecture, sculpture, music, mathematics, physics, biology, astronomy, and engineering—and the unity of the two cultures. He delves deeply into the underlying mathematics and aesthetics of science and art, paying special attention to the mathematical sequence called the Fibonacci series and to the related notion of the "golden ratio" or "divine proportion"—the keys to understanding the unity of art and nature. 32 b/w and 16 color illustrations.