A golden rectangle is one whose side lengths are in the golden ratio, which is, or approximated by:
A distinctive feature of this shape is that when a square section is removed, the remainder is another golden rectangle; that is, with the same aspect ratio as the first. Square removal can be repeated infinitely, in which case corresponding corners of the squares form an infinite sequence of points on the golden spiral, the unique logarithmic spiral with this property.
According to astrophysicist and math popularizer Mario Livio, since the publication of Luca Pacioli's Divina Proportione in 1509, when "with Pacioli's book, the Golden Ratio started to become available to artists in theoretical treatises that were not overly mathematical, that they could actually use," many artists and architects have been fascinated by the presumption that the golden rectangle is considered aesthetically pleasing. The proportions of the golden rectangle have been observed in works predating Pacioli's publication.
Read more about Golden Rectangle: Construction, Applications
Famous quotes containing the word golden:
“With sweet May dews my wings were wet,
And Phoebus fird my vocal rage;
He caught me in his silken net,
And shut me in his golden cage.
He loves to sit and hear me sing,
Then, laughing, sports and plays with me;
Then stretches out my golden wing,
And mocks my loss of liberty.”
—William Blake (17571827)