Similarity between representations of 4 dimensional objects and Picasso's work


Several people interested in the 4th dimension in the early 1900s put a lot effort into developing accurate 2D pictures of 4D figures from several angles so that people could begin to get a sense of them. One such person was Esprit Jouffret, who wrote a book on the geometry of the 4th dimension in 1903. One of the techniques he used (but did not develop) was called perspective cavalière. We can see one of his illustrations using this technique below, juxtaposed with one of Picasso's works.


Perspective Caveliere of the 16Portrait of Ambrose Vollard
Fundamental Octahedrons of an IkosatetrahedroidPablo Picasso, 1910
Esprit Jouffret,1903

Notice that there is a striking similarity in the triangular facets, which represent a variety of planes and angles seen from different points of view. The shading of certain of these facets creates shifting relationships that contribute to a general shimmering quality of "irridescence" in the both the diagram and Picasso's painting.


Next!


Back to the Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry | Back to InClass