Could Raphael’s School of Athens Contain Hidden Geometry?

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

article

Frode S Larsen¹  Harald E Moe² 

[1] UiT The Arctic University of Norway;Østfold University College

关键词: Raphael;    The school of Athens;    Euclid;    The Elements;    Plato;    Timaeus;    geometry;    vesica piscis;   

DOI  :  10.5642/jhummath.SCYQ4586

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Claremont Center for the Mathematical Sciences

【 摘 要 】

In this article we argue that Raphael has hidden a geometric shape called a vesica piscis in his fresco The School of Athens (1510-1511). The vesica piscis, and several findings which can be interpreted as suggesting the presence of a vesica piscis in the fresco, are presented. Several of these suggestions relate to the vesica piscis drawn in the construction of an equilateral triangle in the first proposition of Euclid’s Elements. Based on findings in the fresco, we suggest that the vesica piscis should be interpreted in light of a philosophical and theological controversy which took place in Italy in the decades around 1500, between the Catholic Church and philosophers at the University of Padua.

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC-ND