Clara Silvia Roero
Dipartimento di Matematica, Università di Torino
Via Carlo Alberto, 10
10123 Turin (Torino) ITALY

The Narmer Palette, Egyptian, ca. 3000 B.C., an excellent approximation of the catenary curve.

During the course of centuries mathematics has interacted in many ways with culture and human activities, and among these a place of privilege has been reserved for art and architecture.

This paper discusses several examples of the existence of three levels of interaction between mathematics and art: the presence of a mathematical substrate in various archaeological and artistic relics from antiquity, the conscious or unconscious application by artists of mathematical principles whose theories that had not yet been fully developed and, finally, the relationship established by some mathematicians with artists and art theorists that permitted an awareness and acquisition of mathematical knowledge and rules that were then applied to artistic creations. The development of these three levels of interactions between mathematics and art can be a valid aid to the creation of a unified vision of the history of culture of peoples and civilizations, indicating various kinds of influence: technical-practical, theoretical-scientific, mystical-sacred, principles and customs, etc.
Indeed, in the wake of a long-term historiographic approach, new research perspectives have emerged recently that have been favourably received by art historians and critics.

About the author
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. is Full Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Turin, and President of the Italian Society of Historians of Mathematics.

The correct citation for this paper is:
Clara Silvia Roero, "Relationships between History of Mathematics and History of Art", pp. 105-110 in Nexus VI: Architecture and Mathematics, eds. Sylvie Duvernoy and Orietta Pedemonte Turin: Kim Williams Books, 2006.