Τhe Durer’s solid “Melencolia I” is dominated by a large solid whose exact geometric nature has been the subject of some debate during the last decades. Most researchers agree that Durer attempted the depiction of a truncated rhombohedron, i.e. a geometric solid produced by six rhombic faces with two opposite corners cut off, and even take a step further to discuss the angles of the rhombic faces. The Durers solid Some have argued that these angles are 72 and 108 degrees, connecting thus the Durer’s solid to the golden ratio φ. A number of researchers have proceeded to measurements and calculations, based on certain assumptions, to conclude that the angles are rather 80 and 100 degrees. Reconstructions of the solid cannot provide definite answers as quite different solids may appear identical from specific viewpoints. Therefore, though several of the provided conjectures about the Durer’s solid may appear reasonable or even tempting to accept, none of them is supported by sufficient evidence, taken either from direct measurements on the engraving or from Durer’s own writings, and therefore the problem of what this solid exactly is and why Durer included it in the engraving remains open. It is certainly arguable whether the precision provided by a work of art (and a work of art of such a small size for that matter), no matter how masterly executed, could possibly offer ground to measurements accurate enough to assist on determining if a specific angle, rendered in perspective, is equal to 72, 79, 80 or 82 degrees, as are the claims of various researchers. It appears certain however that, given the background of Albrecht Durer, the artist must have rendered his solid based on some geometric design and the rules of linear perspective. In this essay, instead of studying directly the nature of Durer’s solid, I will attempt to focus on the possibility of a built in geometric design on which the rendering of the solid is based.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 18:32:46 +0000
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