Math and the Mona Lisa: The Art and Science of Leonardo Da Vinci

"Math and the Mona Lisa: The Art & Science of Leonardo da Vinci", Bulent Atalay, NY, Smithsonian Books, 2006 ISBN: -10-06-085119-8, (PB) 314 pgs.; 280 pg. text plus 21 pg. Biblio. & Notes & 12 pg. Index. A Prof. of Physics, author Atalay blessed his readers with a succint history of science & art throughout the ages, emphasizing in particular the contributions of Leonardo da Vinci. We are provided 13 Chaps., 16 color plates & several cartoons to intimately introduce Leonardo da Vinci, his birth, & life & times entwined with an invaluable pensive view of the nature of art & science, & the science of art. Atalay ruminates on previous & subsequent renowned scientists, philosophers & artists, including present-day physicists wrestling with quantum mechanics, etc. For those interested in science & art & seek intimate glimpses into lives & times of the world's greatest thinkers as Aristotle, Archimedes, Michelangelo, Galileo, Newton, de Broglie, Einstein, Schroedinger, etc. this is your book. Several provocative math/phsics concepts are used to illuminate uncanny conceptual skills of scientists, but this is not a primer on physics, math or art. Nonetheless, it is an important book, one that requires an author to be personally & deeply immersed in the world of science. Atalay has done this admirably & publishers don't get any better. Enjoy.

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.

This is a genuinely astonishing book. Its essential idea is that the dichotomy between art and science is a relatively modern idea, that the distinction is not present in Leonardo's method of looking at the world. I've read a lot of good histories of art, and even a good history of science or two, but I've never seen an organic history of both, and that's Atalay's achievement. The illustrations alone -- showing the art in science and the science in art -- are a wonder, and well worth the price of the book. A very elegant entertainment.

Atalay's book just keeps unpacking as you read. He starts by describing C.P. Snow's two cultures and then provides a brief, but full, biography of Leonardo. Each chapter begins with a Leonardo quote that is unfolded within the chapter. In the end I felt a lot more intelligent about art and science and thought his use of Leonardo to make his case was quite smart indeed.

Bulent Atalay, the author of this remarkable book, makes a compelling case for Leonardo being just as skilled as a scientist and engineer as he is known to have been as an artist. He writes that Leonardo was "a scientist doing art" seen in such geometric devices as the polyhedral shapes, the impeccable perspective, and in the geological formations found in his paintings. Atalay also writes that Leonardo was "an artist doing science," the evidence on display especially in the breath taking anatomical drawings. The author, himself an accomplished scientist and artist, may just be the perfect scholar to probe Leonardo's methodology. By revealing the results of his analysis in such convincing and readable form, Atalay has created an exceptionally powerful book that cannot fail to inspire, that cannot fail to become a classic. As a professional educator, I would recommend this book to anyone who values a good education.