EUCLID'S FIFTH Painting

Euclid lived in ancient Greece around 350 - 250 BC. and is the author of a treatise entitled Elements. It is the second most frequently printed work in history, next only to the Bible. But in fact, Euclid’s work was a bible for almost 2000 years. He presented all the mathematics known to his time, and he did so by first fixing a set of basic postulates (rules to be taken for granted) and then inferring all the results from these postulates. Euclid’s postulates for geometry express basic properties, e.g. that you can draw just one straight line between two given points. The fifth postulate states that if you take a line and a point outside the line, then you can draw just one line through the point which is parallel to the first line, i.e. which does not intersect that line. If you draw another line, it will intersect the first (and second) line. Over a period of two thousand years, speculation arose whether the fifth postulate could be inferred from the other four, or it would be possible to replace by with alternative axiom yielding a different kind of geometry. Around 1830 it finally turned out that the fifth is independent from the others and that other possible geometries exist. One can think of the geometry on the surface of a sphere, though strictly speaking this is not an example, as the other four axioms are not all true. But other examples exist known as hyperbolic geometry. Euclid’s Elements also contain a number of now classic proofs some of which are portrayed in the works. This work follows the same recipe as the Rules series, i.e. the first layer consists of a number of geometric shapes, barely visible behind the second layer with the main motive. This work is part of the series THEOREMS AND PROOFS. The works illustrate – directly or indirectly – a theorem with a beautiful proof, according to the criteria put forth by the mathematician Hardy in his classical book A Mathematician's Apology: surprise combined with something inevitable, economy and depth.

Painting:Oil on Canvas

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:31.5 W x 39.4 H x 0.7 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.