The Flagellation c. 1455
by Piero della Francesca
Oil and tempera on panel, 59 x 82 cm
Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino
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Can an artistic piece of work be interpreted using mathematical methods? Is it valid to make assumptions that a Renaissance painter (who is also a mathmatician) used geometric rules to guide his artisitic creation?
An article from this week's Nature reported a science historian's discoveries, uncovering mysteries surrounding a Renaissance masterpiece - The Flagellation by Piero della Francesca (c. 1455). Its most puzzling feature falls on the identification of the three men standing on the right (see above).
David King, a historian of scientific instruments (Frankfurt, Germany), proposed his interpretation of Piero's painting. It revealed elements of mathematics and how they shaped Piero's vision for his art.
How did King's discovery begin?
Originally, King was interested in a particular 15th Century Astrolobe - instrument used by astronomers to tell timeline and alignment of planets. (see below). It was a gift from Johannes Regiomontanus to Cardinal Ioannis Bessarion, dated around the time Piero painted The Flagellation. A learned Greek scholar, Cardinal Bessarion was Regiomontanus' mentor. The gift to his teacher was made before Regiomontanus left Vienna for Rome.
What intrigued David King was the "spacing pattern" of the inscription on the bottom - letters were unevenly distributed. King decided to study it further. It roughly translates to: "Under the protection of Bessarion, I arise in Rome in 1462 as a work of Johannes explaining the rotation of the universe." More, a rather surprising detail came out of King's readings: the Cardinal Bessarion had been proposed to be the bearded man in The Flagellation.
King and Holzschuh, then, enlarged the inscription to align letters to figures in the painting (see vertical lines drawn over the painting below). Decoding the inscriptions meant solving "identities" for each figure. For example, "IO from IOANNIS". These deductions helped King propose multiple identities for each figure in the "flagellation scene", contrary to conventional belief.
But what about the three men? King proposed the following:
Bearded man: Bessarion
Youth: Regiomontanus
Man on the right: multiple identities that include Giovanni Bacci (a possible sponsor)
King argued that multiple identities ensured that the painting could be interpreted in different ways, thus paying tribute to its original title "They came together in one" (Convenerunt in unum).
Where did the math come into play? -- in the "gloden ratio", said King.
" (A:B) = [(A+B):A] " King hypothesized that Piero used it to precisely workout "viewer perspectives" for the painting. If true, Piero was ahead of his time.
Is King's theory fact or fiction?
Many critics and art historians disagree with King's theory, though he has supporters, too. Evidence King needs to prove his theory may never be found, said Architect James Bradburne (Florence, Italy). King needs to show direct evidence that calculations were made for sketching the draft of the painting and that alignments were recorded according to the Astrolobe for Cardinal Bessarion.
It is gratifying to me that artists used mathematical (or, scientific) theories to inspire and guide their art. What is artistic creation, if it is not built on improvements discovered by men to reveal humanity? Artists of today might want to think back on masterworks created during the Renaissance period, when knowledge from diverse areas intermingled, leading to a creative product. For example, studying Human Anatomy led to technical advancements in painting and sculpture, under Humanism influence.
I think modern-day educational directions are deficient in teaching people to combine knowledge from various seeminly unrelated fields. Most professional fields have schematized steps to teach a person a specific set of skills. BUT, is that all one needs? Aren't we taught to think "outside of the box"?
News Feature:
Nature 446, 488-492 (29 March 2007) | doi:10.1038/446488a; Published online 28 March 2007
For a "real" lecture, go to:
http://web.uni-frankfurt.de/fb13/ign/Code.htm
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