Generative Art Timeline · Chapter 1: Pre-Modern Era (Pre-1850)
1509
Luca Pacioli publishes De Divina Proportione, illustrated by Leonardo da Vinci
Luca Pacioli’s book, illustrated by Leonardo, helped popularize the principles of mathematical proportion and beauty, known as the Golden Ratio, in art and architecture.
Text by Peter Bauman. Generative Art Timeline, Le Random, fact-checked September 2026.
Sources
People
Leonardo da Vinci, Luca Pacioli
Movements
Math Art, aesthetics
Filed under
- Ideas
- architecture, golden ratio, mathematics, proportion
- People
- Leonardo da Vinci, Luca Pacioli
- Works
- De Divina Proportione
Echoes across time
- 1986 · The Beauty of Fractals by Heinz-Otto Peitgen and Peter Richter
- 1972 · Surface Substitution on 36 Plates by Jennifer Bartlett
- 1979 · Frank J Malina Publishes Visual Art, Mathematics, and Computers
Le Random editorials
- Aaron Hertzmann on Caring about People, Peter Bauman, April 13, 2026
- Barbara London on New Territory, Peter Bauman, February 11, 2025
- Mona Lisa to monogrid, Peter Bauman, March 6, 2024
Le Random podcast
- Interview with Frieder Nake — listen with transcript on Le Random (16 Jul 2024, 41 min). Transcript mentions Leonardo da Vinci. Apple Podcasts · Spotify
- Timeline Ch 1—Pre-Modern Era with Marius Watz — listen with transcript on Le Random (06 Jul 2023, 46 min). Chapter 1’s episode. Apple Podcasts · Spotify