Art and Threes

Artists have used three subjects extensively in paintings with names such as “Three Coke Bottles” by Andy Warhol, “Three Trees in Autumn” by Claude Monet, “The Three Graces” by Rubens, “Adoration of the Trinity” by Albrecht Durer, “Abraham and the Three Angels”, “The Three Archangels,” “The Three Ages of Man,” “The Three Flags,” “The Three Umbrellas,” “Three Trout,” “Three Ducks,” “Three Spheres,” and “Three Sandwiches,” among others.  There are more on a long list. 

Renaissance artists became enamored of the application of mathematics to their art.  “Few famous painters in history have also been gifted mathematicians.  However, when we speak of a ‘Renaissance man,’ we mean a person who exemplifies the Renaissance ideal of wide-ranging culture and learning.  Accordingly, three of the best Renaissance painters, the Italians Piero della Francesca (ca. 1412-1492) and Leonardo da Vinci and the German Albrecht Durer, also made interesting contributions to mathematics.  Not surprisingly perhaps, the mathematical investigations of all three painters were related to the Golden Ratio,” wrote Mario Livio in his book The Golden Ratio.