Portrait Painting

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

The book, Math and the Mona Lisa: The Art and Science of Leonardo da Vinci, by Bulent Atalay, which I just read, was fascinating. The author explores how the sciences and arts have influenced each other with nature both the inspiration and resource bank. He discusses and sites examples of the golden rectangle, the golden triangle, and the Fibonacci sequence among other phenomena in nature and expressed in paintings and building design.

However, what intrigues me most is the data on portrait painting in western culture. Portrait painters typically place one of the subject's eyes in the very center of the picture, towards the top third of the canvas, suggesting the composition of the portrait has an unwritten order. Painters typically present the left side of the face towards the viewer, moreso than the right as seen in the drawing I did above. This is true of iconic paintings including the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci and Girl with a Pearl Earring by Vermeer. This will definitely change the way I look at portrait painting.