In Search of Beauty – Golden Ratio.

In search of beauty – Golden Ratio

                                           

Art of the Ages was saturated with mathematics and geometry. The key to all of harmony was Golden Ratio, also known as the Divine Proportion - an aesthetic canon developed in ancient Greece. It describes a split section into two parts in such a way that the ratio of the longer to the shorter portion was equal to the ratio of the entire section of the long parts. This ratio is called the golden number and denoted by the Greek letter ‘fi’, its value is approximately 1.618.

Golden Ratio was born from the observation of the world around them - the ancient philosophers and mathematicians noticed that it occurs in geometry and nature seems to strive for it in their works. It was believed that the use of the divine proportion in works of art provide them to achieve a perfect beauty. The first of a famous artist, who had used the Golden Ratio, was Phidias, the most famous sculptor of ancient Greece. In ancient times , as well as during the Renaissance and Classicism based on the gold division determined plans temples , porticoes height and width , holes windows , doors, architectural details shapes , images , and the books.

Piero della Francesa , mathematician and Italian Renaissance painter in his frescoes combined multi-storey layouts various combinations dividing the golden triangles , rhombus, and other geometric figures. For masters “mathematical composition " belonged Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci. This great experimenter applied the principle of the golden ratio in his most famous work - a portrait of Genoese lady, also known as Mona Lisa. The proportions of the body and face apparition’s women are dictated by the number of fi. Other Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli , based on the golden ratio in his own image " Birth of Venus " , subordinating its dimensions work, body composition and construction of the goddess . Also later artists inspired by the divine proportion - the great eccentric Salvador Dali painted according to the principles of the Last Supper. To this day art historians deciphers the principle figures , whose were based on works of art , seeing in them the magical properties on time, but especially his aesthetic and harmonious qualities.

The principle of the golden ratio is using in many ways. Starting from the dimensions of the image created - the relative lengths of the sides - the deployment of elements of a work plan, ending on the proportion of each component. This ancient canon is important in graphic design. For example, the company Apple Logo has been designed using six different circles so that their relations were ... 1.618 rays.

                                             

Arrangement of the elements in the art work creates relationships between them, which induces on the viewer the impression of harmony or chaos, static or dynamic, equilibrium or domination. Gold division to help identify the sizes of individual elements of the image and the image's width compared to its height. Fonts designed according to the golden division, and systems to facilitate the design of the golden ratio suppliers provide multi-functional and versatile tools and their use depends on the imagination of the designer.

Contextual and Cultural Referencing extends the historical knowledge of Golden Ratio. Fun with 

colours and geometric shapes while of activities on the Visual Communication gives a greater 

awareness of image composition and interaction between the different parts of the image. All this 

provides us, future graphics to create greater force of expression in their own projects.

Reference:

William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, Jill Butler, Universal Principles of Design: A Cross-Disciplinary Reference, 2003, Gloucester MA: Rockport Publishers.