The Secret Code

The Divine Proportion reveals a number of simple patterns: It is seen in the seed patterns of fruits, the family tree of bees, the pyramids of Egypt, Gothic cathedrals, Renaissance paintings, the human body, shells ... the list is endless.

Mathematicians use the Greek symbol to represent the Divine Proportion and equate it to a number that is defined by the ratio (1 + 5) / 2 or 1.6180339.... Numbers do little, however, in describing this unique ratio that is found everywhere in nature and for 2500 years has been an aesthetic guide in art and architecture.

Beginning with calculations found on clay tablets in ancient Babylon, the story of Divine Proportion can be traced alongside the history of numbers to the fractals of the digital age. As its many forms unfold we uncover the Golden Rectangle in the Parthenon, Golden Spirals in the human inner ear, a Golden Angle in the petal patterns of a rose, and the Fibonacci numbers in lilies, daisies, pineapples, and in our own DNA.

• Format Hardback | 208 pages
• Dimensions 190 x 210 x 24mm | 887g
• Publication date 02 Jun 2020
• Publisher Taschen GmbH
• Publication City/Country Cologne, Germany
• Language English
• ISBN10 3836507110
• ISBN13 9783836507110