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Albrecht Dürer‘s Magic Square
The document discusses Albrecht Dürer's magic square from 1514. The magic square is a 4x4 grid of numbers with the property that the sums of each row, column, and diagonal all equal 34. Dürer arranged the numbers such that this magic sum of 34 would be preserved no matter how the squares were rotated or which quarters were summed. The magic square is believed to have numerical and symbolic meanings for Dürer related to numerology and the year his mother died.
Albrecht Dürer‘s Magic Square
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- 2. Dürer‘s magic square Albrecht Dürer. 1514. Melencolia1. Engraving on Paper. 24 cm by 18.8 cm (shown copy from Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Germany).
- 3. 16 3 213 5 10 11 8 9 6 7 12 4 15 14 1 The magic square What is the magic? It is the number 34! The sum of the various fields within the magic square are always 34.
- 4. 16 3 213 5 10 11 8 9 6 7 12 4 15 14 1 The sum of all rows is 34!
- 5. 16 3 213 5 10 11 8 9 6 7 12 4 15 14 1 The sum of all columns is 34!
- 6. 16 3 213 5 10 11 8 9 6 7 12 4 15 14 1 The sum of all corners is 34!
- 7. 16 3 213 5 10 11 8 9 6 7 12 4 15 14 1 Move the fields one step clockwise and it is still 34!
- 8. 16 3 213 5 10 11 8 9 6 7 12 4 15 14 1 Move the fields another step and it is still 34!
- 9. 16 3 213 5 10 11 8 9 6 7 12 4 15 14 1 The sum of the fields in the center is 34!
- 10. 16 3 213 5 10 11 8 9 6 7 12 4 15 14 1 5 + 9 + 8 + 12 = 34
- 11. 16 3 213 5 10 11 8 9 6 7 12 4 15 14 1 3 + 2 + 15 + 14 = 34
- 12. 16 3 213 5 10 11 8 9 6 7 12 4 15 14 1 16 3 2 13 5 10 11 8 9 6 7 12 4 15 14 1 The same is true for the diagonals. . .
- 13. 16 3 213 5 10 11 8 9 6 7 12 4 15 14 1 16 3 2 13 5 10 11 8 9 6 7 12 4 15 14 1 And so on: 34!
- 14. 16 3 213 5 10 11 8 9 6 7 12 4 15 14 1 Dürer created this square in 1514 (the year his mother died). “D“ for Dürer is the 4th letter of the alphabet. “A“ for Albrecht is the 1st.
- 15. In addition tobeing a genius, Albrecht Dürer was an extraordinarily talented artist, and a very good looking man. His hair was even more amazing than his rabbit. And his signature could be use to denote Anno Domini.