A treatise on the laws governing proportional form in both nature and the arts and sciences, this well-illustrated volume amply demonstrates how a design's geometrical construction can captivate both the eye and the mind. Flowers, shells, and other natural organisms appear here, along with artistic creations, in a mathematical study of the similarity of their constructive principles. These principles, in turn, are the fundamental elements by which nature creates harmony.
The author, Samuel Colman (1832?1920), was a prominent member of the Hudson River School of painters ("Storm King on the Hudson," his 1866 oil on canvas, is one of his best-known works), and an embodiment through his life and work of the school's celebration of nature through art. As an activist in the politics of art, Colman helped form the Society of American Artists as well as the American Society of Painters in Water Colors, a relatively new medium at the time. He was also a teacher and associate of Louis Comfort Tiffany; in 1879, the two joined forces to establish an interior design firm that included Mark Twain among its clientele.
This handsome and provocative volume is enhanced by 302 drawings by the author that complement and amplify each subject area discussed. It also includes an important Mathematical Analysis by the editor, C. Arthur Coan. As a multifaceted study, this book will find an audience among artists and philosophers, as well as scientists and mathematicians.

Inhalt

INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER
I ARGUMENT
II CORRELATIONS
Correlations of Numbers (by the Editor)
Correlations of Form
The Polyhedra
III GEOMETRIC FORMS
Modes of Progression
The Pentagon
The Octagon and Square
The Equilateral Triangle and the Hexagon
IV GEOMETRIC FORMS?Continued
The Egyptian Triangle
The Ideal Angle
The Vesica Piscis
The Rectangles
V FORM EVOLUTION
Geometry of Segmentation
Extreme and Mean Proportion
VI THE LAW OF NUMBERS
VII CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
VIII BOTANY
IX ON CONCHOLOGY
X DIATOMS
XI ANIMATE FORMS
Insects
Birds
Fish
Mammals
XII THE HUMAN FIGURE
XIII FORCE (Chapter by the Editor)
Sound
Light
Heat
Gravitation
XIV ARCHITECTURE
APPENDIX NOTES (by the Editor)
INDEX