The History of Projective Geometry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The History of Projective Geometry - Essay ExampleIn the everyday life, one often does come across varied aspects of projective geometry. For example a work picture be dis contend on a screen is an example of projection. The shadows brought into existence by opaque objects are one other example of projective geometry. Projective geometry evolved and developed into a formal constituent of mathematical studies over a long period of time. History The history of projective geometry is an apt example of the confluence and collaboration between science and art. Projective geometry, to begin with had its origins in the studies in optics carried on by the Arab mathematicians like Alhazen (Boyer et al., 143). During the Renaissance, when the Western Europe developed a more look outside barbel to varied aspects of life including mathematics and art, the discoveries and studies of Arab mathematicians that had by that time reached Europe through trade routes greatly influenced the Western wor ld (Boyer et al., 145). The one big flaw in the Western art that had been created till now was that it was more or less flat in its presentation and style. However, soon, several early Renaissance artists after being influenced and inspired by the essentially Arab studies in optics, started to develop techniques of visual depiction that endowed their works of art with a three dimensional depth and perspective (Encyclopedia Britannica Online) . The creations of Renaissance art had a significant impact on the contemporary and future mathematicians. The projective geometry evinced nascent reverberations in the architectural drawings of Leon Battista (1404-1472) and Filippo Brunelledchi (1377-1446). In fact, it was these two individuals who laid waste the foundation of the method of perspective drawing (Encyclopedia Britannica Online). The primary approach of this method was to connect the eyes of the painter to various points on a landscape with the religious service of seemingly st raight lines. The original drawing was created on the basis of tracing the intersection of these lines on a vertical plane. Obviously, this approach towards drawing was named projective geometry as it mean to project a real plane on a picture plain (Encyclopedia Britannica Online). Further, Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) and Gerard Desargues (1591-1661) further expanded the scope and possibility of projective geometry by developing the conception of point of infinity (Boyer et al., 221). In that context, it would not be wrong to say that the works and studies of Gaspard Monge at some time during the end of the 18th century played a central and pivotal role in the future development and study of projective geometry (Boyer et al., 221). Still it was Jean-Victor Poncelet (1788-1867) who is attributed to be the father of modern projective geometry (.Encyclopedia Britannica Online) Jean-Victor Poncelet was a renowned cut engineer and mathematician who are credited with the honor of syste matically and formally reviving projective geometry in the 19th century. Some mathematicians go even as far forrard to claim that his work Traite desproprietes projectives des figures was actually the first credible, authentic and well researched work on projective geometry after what was published by Gerard Desargues in the seventeenth century (.Encyclopedia Britannica Online )To begin with it were the French mathematicians Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) and