Shakespeares, The Merchant of Venice quotes, Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

But is this really the

case? What gives something visual its aesthetic appeal? Whether it is a building, a sculpture, a face, or simply a
composition, people have their own, often differing opinions on what is pleasing to the eye; but is there a
universal correlation, which links the characteristics of an object, to its aesthetic appeal? And does the answer
lie within the realms of mathematics?
Should we abide by the Golden Ratio in Architecture or just manifest our imagination and ignore its
importance?
This question is probably equivalent to asking, Should we learn from the mistakes of our elders or should we
repeat them in our vague attitude and welcome the consequences? On one hand a sensible thought would
say yes, and on the second there would be critics enough to ignore the prior experiences. Mankind like any
other species on earth has slowly evolved and grown within and according to the natural surroundings and this
nature itself seems to indicate that there might be one or more fundamental principles, which offer an insight
into the aesthetic world. The principle which can be most significantly recognised in this regard is the GOLDEN
RATIO, so it is this that has to explored now.
What is the golden ratio?
In the Elements, the most influential mathematics textbook ever written, Euclid defines a
proportion derived from the division of a line into what he calls its "extreme and mean ratio."

Euclid's definition reads: A straight line is said to have been cut in extreme and mean ratio when, as
the whole line is to the greater segment, so is the greater to the lesser. This ratio approximately equals to
1.683.
Is it just a mean ratio or the divine proportion?
Who could have guessed that this innocent-looking line division would have implications for numerous natural
phenomena ranging from the leaf and seed arrangements of plants to the structure of the crystals of some
aluminium alloys, and from the arts to the stock market? In fact, with the increasing realization of the
astonishing properties of this number over the centuries since Euclid's definition, the number was given the
honorifics "Divine Proportion" and "Golden Ratio. Probably the most compelling display of the Golden Ratio is
in the many examples seen in nature. The Golden Ratio and the Fibonacci sequence can be seen in objects
from the human body to the growth pattern of a chambered nautilus. There is even speculation that great
music composers such as Mozart have used the properties of the Golden Mean in the creation of some of their
music. The great masters developed their skills by recreating things they observed in nature. In the earliest of
cases, these artists and craftsmen probably had no knowledge of the math involved, only an acute awareness
of this pattern repeated around them which convinced them to consider it to be divine. It was then that the
mathematicians that unlocked the secrets of the Golden Ratio. The ratio has presumed association with
aesthetics, since it provides a wonderful example of an attempt to mingle mathematics with the arts.

Do we really consider the fact that it might be the absolute basis for aesthetics in architecture?
You may have come across some spectacular buildings, but have you ever stopped to wonder why theyre built
that way? Math and architecture are more closely linked that one might think. The limit of a few words is not
enough to mention about the vast usage of golden ratio in various architectural styles over the history but the
following few examples in brief will throw enough light on the architectural history which will prove this right.
It is claimed that Stonehenge (3100 BC 2200 BC) has golden ratio proportions between its concentric circles.
Various authors discern golden ratio proportions in Egyptian, Summerian and Greek vases, Chinese pottery,
Olmec sculptures, and Cretan and Mycenaean products from the late Bronze Age, which predates by about
1,000 years the Greek mathematicians who were first known to have studied the golden ratio. The superlatives
that describe the Great Pyramid of Giza speaks for itself, its the largest and oldest of the three pyramids and
was the tallest man-made structure in the world for 3,800 years, but theres also plenty of math behind one of
the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The pyramids perimeter divided by twice its height is equal to pi
(3.1416). The Acropolis of Athens, including the Parthenon, according to some studies, has many proportions
that approximate the golden ratio. Even in the Buddhist architecture the Stupa of Borobudur in Java,
Indonesia, the largest known Buddhist stupa, has the dimension of the square base related to the diameter of
the largest circular terrace as 1.618:1. In his 1919 book Ad Quadratum, Frederik Macody Lund, a historian who
studied the geometry of several gothic structures, claims that the Cathedral of Chartres (begun in the 12th
century), the Notre-Dame of Laon, and the Notre Dame de Paris (1160) are designed according to the golden
ratio.
chambered nautilus

The renaissance features 60 drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, some of which illustrate the appearance of the
golden ratio in geometric figures. Starting with part of the work of Leonardo Da Vinci, if you draw a rectangle
around the face of Mona Lisa, the ratio of the height to width of that rectangle is equal to the Golden Ratio.
The Sacrament of the Last Supper (1955): The canvas of this surrealist masterpiece by Salvador Dal is a golden
rectangle. A huge dodecahedron, with edges in golden ratio to one another, is suspended above and behind
Jesus and dominates the composition. These two examples are only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the
appearances of the Golden Ratio in the arts.

The Farnsworth House, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, has been described as "the
proportions, within the glass walls, approach 1:2and "with a width to length ratio of 1:1.75 (nearly the golden
section)" and has been studied with his other works in relation to the golden ratio. The Swiss architect Le
Corbusier, famous for his contributions to the modern international style, centered his design philosophy on
systems of harmony and proportion. Le Corbusier's faith in the mathematical order of the universe was closely
bound to the golden ratio and the Fibonacci series, which he described as "rhythms apparent to the eye and
clear in their relations with one another. And these rhythms are at the very root of human activities. They
resound in man by an organic inevitability, the same fine inevitability which causes the tracing out of the
Golden Section by children, old men, savages and the learned. The United Nations building in New York which
is L-shaped, further the upright part of the L has sides in the golden ratio, and there are distinctive marks on
this taller part which divide the height by the golden ratio. After learning about so many examples picked from
Sacrament of the Last Supper, by Salvador
The Parthenon
the history, it would be just enough to consider it to be a basis for aesthetics in architecture if not an absolute
one.
A hackneyed number or an intelligent arrangement?
In order to answer this question we need to find out, why golden ratio pleases the eye? It is well known that
the eyes take in information more efficiently when they scan side to side, as opposed to up and down. When
you look at what so many people have been drawing and building, you see these proportions everywhere.
Whether intentionally or not, the ratio represents the best proportions to transfer to the brain. We really want
to get on; we don't want to get headaches while we are scanning and recording and understanding things.
Shapes that resemble the golden ratio facilitate the scanning of images and their transmission through vision
organs to the brain. Animals are wired to feel better and better when they are helped and so they feel
pleasure when they find food or shelter or a mate. When we see the proportions in the golden ratio, we are
helped. We feel pleasure and we call it beauty.
Do we need to follow it at all?
If still after considering both the historical facts and the obvious biological effects mentioned above one is not
convinced about the importance of the great ratio then the following facts will for sure change your opinion.
When hundred people were asked to draw rectangles eighty out of them unconsciously drew ones following
the golden ratio. What made them to do so? And now the most important fact, which must not be known to
all the non-supporters of the golden ratio, is that if we draw a rectangle in the cone of vision of our eyes it is
indeed within the limits of golden ratio. Now think how can we refuse to see what our eyes have been
designed for? Proving golden ratio in the history to be a mere co-incidence repeatedly does not prove its
insignificance because coincidences seldom occur, what repeats is knowledgeable experience. Again, the
reasons why people believe these notions vary from person to person. Some people believe it simply because
its what they were told. Some people believe these notions out of a need for order and understanding. Some
people find an amazing story irresistible. It appears many people want to believe there are numbers with
magic properties.
To conclude I would repeat, we are drawn to certain pieces of furniture while others not so much, why certain
spaces feel better than others, why we are moved by some paintings and left indifferent by others. The Golden
Ratio provides us with a sense of harmony and balance, two qualities that are often the main determinants in
the aesthetics of an object. Now this is not to say that the Golden Ratio is the only factor that determines the
beauty of an antique or anything else for that matter, but it is almost always present in anything that has been
historically considered "perfect". I now see the examples of the Golden Ratio everywhere. It is as if my eyes
have been opened to something that existed all around me but to see.