I was reading Math and the Mona Lisa last night, and found something that you guys might be interested in. Leonardo (Da Vinci) did three portraits of women in his lifetime: Ginevra de' Benci, Lady with The Ermine, and the Mona Lisa. In each one of them in you draw a Golden Rectangle (length by width ratio = phi/1.618) starting from the bodice to the top of their head, then draw a square in the upper portion, the size of the head defining the size of the square, and then draw the diagonals of the square your result is that the dominant eye will be crossed. If you aren't familiar with the science of the Phi, also known as the Divine Proportion or the Golden Ratio, it is considered the most beautiful number. No joke. In 1876 a poll revealed astonishing results as too the human affinity for the Golden Ratio, when people were asked to choose the most attractive quadrilateral:
Length/Width Ratio Percent Selected
1.00 3%
1.20 .2%
1.25 2%
1.33 2.5%
1.43 7.7%
1.50 20.6%
1.62 35%
1.77 20%
2.00 7.5%
2.50 1.5%
The greatest results were shown closest to the rounded off form of Phi. Cool? A lot of things in nature actually reflect the Golden Ratio like the chambered nautilus, the increasing number of tree branches, the helical spiral of cells in plant stalks, the number of queen bees to worker bees... the list goes on. The show to such an extent that Phi has been referred to as the number of God.
But the point is the Leonardo, may of purposely included these numbers into his paintings to make them more beautiful, considering that he helped right the book Da Porportione Divina, and his very famous quote "The wisest and noblest teacher is nature itself."
I just thought it was pretty cool. You can see the picture in the book below with Genevra de' Benci, the Lady with the Ermine, and the Mona Lisa from left to right respectively.
Mona's body is actually arranged according the plans of a golden triangle. I just thought this was something interesting you guys would like!
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