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Summary: Math and the Mona Lisa
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Review of Math and the Mona Lisa
Bulent Atalay's "Math and the Mona Lisa" is the most thought provoking book I have read. Professor Atalay lucidly explains the mathematics of the Golden Mean which Leonardo both used in his art and eloquently wrote about in his notes which contain a fascinating array of scientific and engineering endeavors.
The Golden mean was a formula used directly or understood intuitively by almost all of the Renaissance artists. Although other Renaissance artists did not carry dissection of human anatomy to the extreme that Leonardo da Vinci did, Renaissance artists were the scientists of their day.
But "Math and the Mona Lisa" is not just another Leonardo da Vinci book. Dr. Atalay uses the Mona Lisa as a literary device to roam through the history of math and science as well as the history of art. As a scientist himself, Professor Atalay's descriptions make great scientists like Galileo, Newton, and Einstein seem real and understandable.
Yet Dr. Atalay is not a stranger to art. He has grown up simultaneously as an accomplished artist. Once the Queen of England asked him to publish a book of drawings of the English countryside.
Dr. Atalay's education includes Eton, St. Andrews, Georgetown, Oxford and Princeton.
Dr. Atalay was born in Istanbul. His home town was the capital of the Roman Empire,Constantinople, Byzantium itself, and then the capital of the Ottoman Empire at the very border of Europe and Asia.
He recounts with awe, reverence and without prejudice the history of mathematics, art and science as they survived and flourished in the great seats of knowledge and learning in both the Europe and the Moslem world.
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Summary: A Gem for Leo
Review: Although "Math and the Mona Lisa" addresses art and science in general, at its heart the book is a paean to Leonardo, and a celebration of his works from a unique perspective. The author, Bulent Atalay, a remarkable scientist and artist who has been called a modern Renaissance man, clearly identifies with Leonardo, another scientist, artist, and engineer who was the definitive Renaissance man. This special affinity makes the book more than an ordinary biography, and gives exceptional credibility to the author's views on the ways in which the concatenation and synthesis of art and science informed Leonardo's productions. It is not coincidental that both Atalay and his hero, Leonardo, have produced art that is representationalist, because such work, like science, requires creativity constrained by reality. "Math and the Mona Lisa" is not a lavish coffee-table tome. Instead, it is a compact gem that covers its main theme clearly, concisely, and comprehensively. It is small enough to fit into purse or coat pocket, and light enough to be easily portable. Rather than killing time in queues, waiting rooms, and aircraft, a reader can find, throughout the book, a wide range of thought-provoking statements and allusions, some central and many peripheral to the principal topic of the book. Even readers who are familiar with much of the content of the book may be pleased to see so many disparate ideas brought into meaningful association. Yet the best things, such as this book, do not contain and provide all that we need, but inspire us to think and seek on our own. Good things sometimes do come in small packages.
Rating:
Summary: A Gem for Leo
Review: Although "Math and the Mona Lisa" addresses art and science in general, at its heart the book is a paean to Leonardo, and a celebration of his works from a unique perspective. The author, Bulent Atalay, a remarkable scientist and artist who has been called a modern Renaissance man, clearly identifies with Leonardo, another scientist, artist, and engineer who was the definitive Renaissance man. This special affinity makes the book more than an ordinary biography, and gives exceptional credibility to the author's views on the ways in which the concatenation and synthesis of art and science informed Leonardo's productions. It is not coincidental that both Atalay and his hero, Leonardo, have produced art that is representationalist, because such work, like science, requires creativity constrained by reality. "Math and the Mona Lisa" is not a lavish coffee-table tome. Instead, it is a compact gem that covers its main theme clearly, concisely, and comprehensively. It is small enough to fit into purse or coat pocket, and light enough to be easily portable. Rather than killing time in queues, waiting rooms, and aircraft, a reader can find, throughout the book, a wide range of thought-provoking statements and allusions, some central and many peripheral to the principal topic of the book. Even readers who are familiar with much of the content of the book may be pleased to see so many disparate ideas brought into meaningful association. Yet the best things, such as this book, do not contain and provide all that we need, but inspire us to think and seek on our own. Good things sometimes do come in small packages.Barry Bressler, Fredericksburg, VA, May 15, 2004
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Summary: "Leonardo's Model"
Review: Bulent Atalay takes us on a delightful romp through millennia and across continents, bringing together art, architecture, science and mathematics under the umbrella of Leonardo's genius. His writing is informed by his artist's eye for beauty, his historian's appreciation of context and his scientist's love of order and symmetry. I read Atalay's description of Leonardo's 'The Last Supper' not long after having visited the masterpiece in Milan, for the first time since its restoration. His words added an unexpected poignancy to that sublime experience. Leonardo is the prototype for the renaissance man-artist, architect, philosopher, scientist, writer. There are few like him today, but Atalay is indeed a modern renaissance man, and he invites us to tap the power of synthesis that is Leonardo's model.        -William D. Phillips, the 1997 Nobel Prize Winner in Physics.
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Summary: "Leonardo's Model"
Review: Bulent Atalay takes us on a delightful romp through millennia and across continents, bringing together art, architecture, science and mathematics under the umbrella of Leonardo's genius. His writing is informed by his artist's eye for beauty, his historian's appreciation of context and his scientist's love of order and symmetry. I read Atalay's description of Leonardo's 'The Last Supper' not long after having visited the masterpiece in Milan, for the first time since its restoration. His words added an unexpected poignancy to that sublime experience. Leonardo is the prototype for the renaissance man-artist, architect, philosopher, scientist, writer. There are few like him today, but Atalay is indeed a modern renaissance man, and he invites us to tap the power of synthesis that is Leonardo's model. -William D. Phillips, the 1997 Nobel Prize Winner in Physics.
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Summary: A general reader's view.
Review: Bulent Atalay's "Math and the Mona Lisa" is an interesting exploration of the historical development of art and science and the effect each has had on the other, with particular reference to the inventive genius of Leonardo da Vinci. One does not have to be solely a scientist or a mathematician to enjoy Dr. Atalay's work, as the clarity of his exposition, his ease of discourse and the liveliness of his anecdotes combine to entertain and instruct even the general reader. I had the privilege of hearing Dr. Atalay lecture on the Fibonacci Series at Mary Washington University and his felicity of expression is admirably reflected in his book. I would highly recommend this work.
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Summary: Leonardo Would Have Approved
Review: For me reading Bulent Atalay's book was nothing short of a sublime experience that transported me back to my undergraduate physics classroom twenty odd years ago. I was as an aspiring scientist enrolled in Professor Atalay's 'University Physics' class. I had initially walked into the room expecting two semesters of obscure and interminable formulas of physics. Instead of just the material of that arcane subject, I found myself immersed in a holistic education - along with the physics and math there were also frequent references to art, music, literature and the classics, and all interrelated. I left with an appreciation of the humanities, as well as with stronger mathematical skills, and yes, physics as well!!! I had experienced the 'Atalay magic.'
Everyone cannot take a course from Atalay. But "Math and the Mona Lisa" echoes the style of his classroom. His book revolves around Leonardo's passions, but most importantly it presents a way to think beyond the box. He serves as a gifted guide for an extraordinary intellectual journey. In some ways it surpasses many of the inventions of others portrayed in the book by creating a vehicle through which the lay reader can penetrate the mind of the creative genius. The book can inspire all of us to continue questioning, to continue discovering, to continue seeking connections between seemingly unrelated disciplines in a way that adds more beauty to all of them. Leonardo would have approved.
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Summary: An Ancient and Modern Parallel.
Review: In his marvelously written book on Leonardo da Vinci, Bulent Atalay, who is both physicist and artist, has drawn an intriguing parallel between Raphael's wondrous painting, "The School of Athens", and the equally famous photograph (within the physics community) of participants (including Einstein sitting front-and-center) at the 1927 Solvay Conference on Physics that focused on the revolutionary formulation of Quantum Mechanics that had been accomplished by Heisenberg, Schroedinger, Born, and Dirac between 1925 and 1927. Just as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Alexander represented the "High Renaissance" of Athens, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael the same for 15th century Italy, 1925-27 were truly heroic years for physics. Atalay writes extremely well, and is an exceptional expositor of difficult material, especially in mathematics and physics.
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Summary: I don't have a Nobel in Physics like Dr. Phillips, but
Review: maybe that makes me a better, more an "Average Joe", reviewer. Besides his review came directly off the back cover of the book. Mr. Atalay has written a wonderful book. It isn't just about math and the Mona Lisa but marries the history of art with the history of science in a delightful and insightful way. His digressions and endnotes are copious,entertaining and enlightening. I rank it with Margaret Livingstone's "Vision and Art, the Biology of Seeing", as must reads for painters and those interested in painting.
But, this is not an easy read or a book to speed read. To wring the greatest benefit from your $16 investment, plan to take time to reflect on the contents and their implications.
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Summary: Extremely fascinating look into the science of art
Review: This is a fascinating and insightful look into the world of artistic science and scientific art. It is a wonderful insight into how science and art are deeply interconnected. It shows us how scientific principles are used in art and how art is hidden in science. The fact that the author is both a renowned physicist and an artist gives him a preferential point of view to tackle this topic. And he does this brilliantly.
I am a physician and a semi professional magician. For this very reason I feel an affinity towards Mr. Atalay's way of looking at things. Magic is also an art form that has its firm roots in physics, mathematics and chemistry. In particular the more advanced card effects often depend on well disguised quite marvellous mathematical principles.
While reading the chapter 'The Eye of the Beholder and the Eye of the Beheld' I was very intrigued by the leftward bias theory. I thought it interesting that out of the 12 court cards in a standard poker deck, 8 of them (or 67%) show their left profile. What is, I believe, interesting is that all red cards (thus including all hearts) show their left side. Only four black cards show their right side, the 3 spades and the jack of clubs. Now, the hearts cards have always been associated with love and caring and the church while the spade cards with
war and political power.
It might just be a coincidence, but it's nevertheless interesting.
All in all a fascinating book that you will treasure.
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