Golden Ratio meaning

Human body and nature:

The golden ratio characterizes the location of the navel to the entire human body. So the ratio between the total height of the body and the height of the navel above the ground corresponds to the golden ratio. Also, in the human body, we say that the ratio of the 1st phalange to the 2nd, or the 2nd to the 3rd, is equal to the golden ratio. Even in the proportions of the spiral of our DNA, we find the golden ratio.

In nature: Some scientists observe the golden ratio in the position of leaves on the stems of plants. Many flowers have several petals of 3, 5, 8, 13, 21: these are the first terms of the Fibonacci sequence. 

What about art?

Several works have managed to integrate the golden ratio. Here we will present the most famous ones:

• Leonardo da Vinci’s « Mona Lisa »: This painting contains multiple golden rectangles. As Leonardo da Vinci was also a mathematician, it looks like he made this painting using, on purpose, the golden ratio to translate the harmony of sacred geometry into his works of art.

• The Vitruvian man « (The man in action) » by Leonardo da Vinci: In this drawing appears three very distinct groups of golden rectangles: one for the head, one for the chest, and one for the legs.

• And recently, Salvador DALI executed his painting, « The sacrament of the Last Supper », inside a golden rectangle. Then we can observe a massive dodecahedron (above the table). Since this polyhedron is made with 12 regular pentagons, it is directly associated with the golden ratio.

Now that you know the golden ratio, how many gloden figures do you see around you?