divine proportion
<blank" >target="_blank" >figure class="wp-block-image size-large">One way Leonardo da Vinci tried to understand the world was through the glossary/mechanics/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="942e4e2d75123e060316626b9f148f17" target="_blank" >mechanics of nature. Leonardo was inspired by the natural surroundings of his home in Vinci and his studies in nature lasted throughout his lifetime. His focus on natural life and the perfection of nature lead da Vinci to compose many of his paintings based on the Divine Proportion or, the golden-mean/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="f8a792b47e6ec02e163bb5977cad7234" target="_blank" >golden mean or golden ratio. Phi is represented by the lower-case Greek letter φ. Its numeric equivalent is 1.618… which means its decimal stretches to infinity and never repeats. It has been coined “golden” because it is said to be aesthetically pleasing to the human eye and can be found throughout nature and in the body/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="cc84af8d8ef01750c8109a419dfd7e8e" target="_blank" >human body. The ratio can be observed in sunflowers, the branches of trees, and in the Milky Way Galaxy. Leonardo da Vinci used many golden ratio rectangles in his paintings. For example, Mona Lisa, one of Leonardo’s most famous paintings, provides a good example of his use of the golden ratio. If a rectangle is drawn around Mona Lisa’s face, that rectangle will prove to have perfect or, “golden” proportions. Furthermore, that rectangle can be divided with a line drawn across her eyes for another golden rectangle, meaning that the proportion of her head length to her eyes is golden. In addition, there are other golden rectangles that can be drawn on Mona Lisa’s body, for example, from her neck to the top of her hands.