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#art history
#geometry
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#models
February 22, 2024
Kate Mothes
All images via Internet Archive
If you’re a mathematician who specializes in geometry, you might be called a geometer. No other term could so neatly describe the meticulous focus of German scholar Max Brückner (1860-1934), who was lauded during his lifetime for his remarkable collection of polyhedra models.
In 1900, Brückner collected many of his specimens into the book Vielecke und Vielflache, Theorie und Geschichte, or “Polygons and Polyhedra, Theory and History,” which dives into great detail about the mathematically exact, three-dimensional shapes. His discoveries include beautifully complex forms known as the final stellation of the iscosahedron and the compound of three octahedra, the latter of which M.C. Escher incorporated into his 1948 wood engraving, “Stars.”
Dig into more of Brückner’s incredibly precise models in the Internet Archive. (via Present & Correct)
#art history
#geometry
#math
#models
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