Geometrie und Kunst

Art history is closely linked to the history of ideas, as both share the human capacity for invention and imagination. Art has always been a response to myth and religion, serving to portray, celebrate, and strengthen faith. However, this book deals with a different kind of influence, namely a specific philosophical tradition known as Platonism. One of its most important aspects is its connection to mathematics, particularly geometry. Part of its great originality lies in the belief that nature can best be understood through the abstract medium of numbers and measurements—an assumption that would become the foundation for science. These principles, which placed a high value on the ideal formulation of numbers, proportions, and geometric shapes, also exerted a strong aesthetic appeal.