The Golden Ratio
The world's Perfection
History
What is it?
Where is it?
Your face:
The golden ratio in terms of your body is used to identify perfection.The head forms a golden rectangle with the eyes at its midpoint. The mouth and nose are each placed at golden sections of the distance between the eyes and the bottom of the chin. The beauty unfolds as you look further. Even when viewed from the side, the human head illustrates the Divine Proportion.The first golden section from the front of the head defines the position of the ear opening. The successive golden sections define the neck , the back of the eye and the front of the eye and back of the nose and mouth . The dimensions of the face from top to bottom also exhibit the Divine Proportion, in the positions of the eye brow, nose and mouth.
In nature:
The number of petals in a flower consistently follows the Fibonacci sequence. Famous examples include the lily, which has three petals, buttercups, which have five (pictured at left), the chicory's 21, the daisy's 34, and so on. Phi appears in petals on account of the ideal packing arrangement as selected by Darwinian processes; each petal is placed at 0.618034 per turn (out of a 360° circle) allowing for the best possible exposure to sunlight and other factors.
In art:
As the Golden Section is found in the design and beauty of nature, it can also be used to achieve beauty and balance in the design of art. This is only a tool though, and not a rule, for composition.The Golden Section was used extensively by Leonardo Da Vinci. Note how all the key dimensions of the room, the table and ornamental shields in Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” were based on the Golden Ratio, which was known in the Renaissance period as The Divine Proportion.