Human consciousness tirelessly strives for the ideal. Height is undeniable, because the mystery of the ideal is not solved. One of the sides of the ideal in our world was engaged in Leonardo da Vinci. The golden ratio, which became the topic of our article, is closely associated with the name of this genius.
Golden section - secrets of our consciousness?
Although we consider our actions fully conscious, thinking about some everyday actions, we can doubt this.
So, for example, imagine an ordinary park bench, which we want to sit on. Where are we going to sit? In the center of the bench or push to the edge? There is almost certainly a third option. We will sit so that the ratio of the formed parts of the bench is about 1.62. So we will feel more comfortable, there will be harmony in our thoughts and feelings. This is a person’s attraction to the ideal. This is the attained golden ratio.
About the ideal proportions in everything that surrounds us, a lot of reasoned sages of antiquity. The Egyptians, Indians, Chinese are such different ancient civilizations, and the idea of an ideal converged precisely to the golden ratio. The Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras founded a school dedicated to the essence of the golden ratio. Even the concepts of ethics by Aristotle were compared with perfect harmony.
In the Middle Ages, the brilliant mechanic, scientist and artist Leonardo da Vinci turned his attention to the essence of the ideal. The golden ratio displayed by him in the world famous image of "Vitruvian man".
Inheriting Supreme Harmony
Famous artists took a lot from the experience of ancient masters. Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci embodied the golden ratio in their canvases. According to the creators, observing the necessary proportions, you can achieve beauty in the picture.
We observe the same in samples of ancient architecture. Everywhere in different corners of the planet, various civilizations adhered to the same proportions.
The appearance of the term
The appearance of the term "golden section" is attributed to the writings of Pythagoras (6th century BC). He, in turn, adopted the doctrine of ideal proportions among the more ancient peoples - Babylonians, Egyptians.
For the first time, the Golden Section mentions in his "Beginnings" Euclid. In one of the books, he gives a geometric diagram of the construction of the gold division. After him, the ideal proportions of the figures were taken by Hypiscles in the 2nd century BC. e. This knowledge came to Europe in the Middle Ages through the Arabic translation of the Euclidean "Beginnings".
The Navarre text translator, J. Campano, wrote his comments on the "Beginnings" translation text. Apparently, it displayed significant secrets of our life that could affect it. Information about the golden ratio in Europe for some time was available only to the elite.
"Vitruvian Man"
The name and achievements of Mark Vitruvius today are known to few, despite all his discoveries. The mockery of fate is that if da Vinci did not depict an illustration for what the Roman wrote in his Ten Books about the proportions of the human body, then Vitruvius could have been completely forgotten. Thus, the genius of one immortalized the genius of another.
The presented golden section of Leonardo da Vinci is the proportions of the human body, which can be inscribed in
geometric symbol shapes (square and circle, which were already discussed). The image of the
“Vitruvian man" is the encrypted golden section, according to the researchers of the issue. We know that even Vinci liked to encode his notes, and with the key to unraveling the ideal proportions.
The golden ratio of Leonardo da Vinci: what is in the code?
In the image of the “Vitruvian man” it is customary to discern two bodies - two figures, one of which fits into a circle and the other into a square. The interpretation of such a composition has the following meaning.
A square is a symbol of the earth, so the author reflects a person’s attachment to the earth, material. The center of the square is in the inguinal region.
The circle is a symbol of the divine, including the divine origin of man. The figure in the circle does not contain dashes, that is, it is not measured. Since, as a divine phenomenon, this figure cannot be measured. The center of the circle is the navel of a person.
According to modern ideas, to see only two figures in the “Vitruvian man” is too flat. In fact, much more can be seen in the image. And this is not all the secrets solved in this riddle.
Attention also turns to the feet of a figure standing in a circle (divine principle). They stand on a plane, go beyond the circle. This is seen as a symbol of the fact that a person gravitates to the earthly, despite its divine component.
According to the materials left by Leonardo da Vinci, the golden ratio, in short, is seen in the human body. And again, in the image of the “Vitruvian man” is the aspiration of the people of that time to exaltation. The great genius saw and tried to convey to other generations the deep meaning that he saw in our nature.
Another famous creation in which Leonardo da Vinci displayed the golden ratio is Mona Lisa. Her mysterious smile incredibly captivates millions of contemplators.
The origins of the drawing "Vitruvian Man"
In very old, but unforgettable times, in the 1st century BC, the Roman Vitruvius created his Ten Books, a work dedicated to the emperor Augustus. But, in addition to gratitude for the help, the books contain valuable advice in the field of architecture.
The books of Vitruvius did not become famous during the life of the author. But the fact that it was he who brought about the aesthetics of architecture and the ergonomics of structures is noteworthy. The latter is extremely important, because in our time, engineers and architects design their creations based on the data of the human body to make the use of structures convenient. In addition, Vitruvius designed the aqueduct - water supply systems that significantly improved life in Roman cities.
And here is one of Vitruvius' Ten Books dedicated to the human body. For the first time, the question was raised about proportions and a certain division, making it close to ideal. This book said that a person fits perfectly into a square shape. The latter is a reflection of the essence of everything earthly. You can also fit a person into a circle - a symbol of the divine. Thus, a person approaches God, and such philosophizing is close to the spirit of that era.
Look again at the depiction of the golden section of Leonardo da Vinci. Pictures, which can be found in many books, provide an opportunity to get acquainted with the code and try to see the clue of the formula.
Giacomo Andrea and da Vinci: who is the true creator?
The famous image of the "Vitruvian man" da Vinci gained immense popularity. But, as various historical sources testify, perhaps the idea of finding the golden section of the human body was not Leonardo at all. An important role was played here by a friend of the artist, Giacomo Andrea, whose fate was extremely tragic.
Giacomo also made an illustration for the book of Vitruvius, showing the lines of the ideal division of the human body. If you compare it with the creation of da Vinci, the similarity will be noticed immediately. But this is not all the facts.
Researchers saw corrections in the image found: someone corrected it, apparently, bringing it to their subjective ideal. In addition, the image of authorship by Giacomo Andrea is older than Leonardo da Vinci. Plus, the creation of the latter was created “clean”, without amendments, with a light hand. As if it were made from memory.
However, the events unfolded in the opinion of art historians, who are more interested in various passions that were in full swing in science and art of that time. There is no reason to argue about the genius of the artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci, whose golden section we are considering, is therefore not surprising that his Vitruvian Man was painted the first time.
Golden ratio in ordinary and unusual things
In inanimate nature, the golden ratio formula is not visible. But all living things, created by nature, are steadily following the law of beauty. If you look around you will see that the most attractive and pleasing phenomena correspond to the proportion of the golden ratio: from the petals of a flower, the sea shell with many curls, decreasing to the center just by the desired value, to a beautiful human body on which the golden ratio is so brilliantly demonstrated Leonardo da Vinci.
The principles of gold division are inherited by modern artists, photographers, sculptors and designers. To this day, it is not fully understood, but its use makes any thing much more attractive. This is its grand aesthetic component.
Conclusion
The mystery of the golden section - the highest harmony that gives beauty, is simple and inaccessible overnight. We see its embodied essence in our everyday life and in simple natural things that we are used to not paying attention to.
Great minds, the most ardent seekers of the secrets of being, such as Einstein, unraveled the exact meaning of the golden division. However, further than the infinite number of digits after zero, no one has yet advanced ... So what conclusions should we draw? Just those about which the wisdom of centuries has been repeating: nothing is perfect. But you need to strive for the ideal for the sake of creating higher beauty, revealing the secrets of this world and our consciousness.