The Beautiful Necessity: Seven Essays on Theosophy and ArchitectureBragdon, Claude Fayette
Philosophy
The Beautiful Necessity: Seven Essays on Theosophy and Architecture
Bragdon, Claude Fayette
Architecture; Theosophy
Doctor Rimmer, in his _Art Anatomy_, divides the figure into four
parts, three of which are equal, and correspond to the lengths of
the leg, the thigh and the trunk; while the fourth part, which is
two-thirds of one of these thirds, extends from the sternum to the
crown of the head. One excellence of such a division aside from its
simplicity, consists in the fact that it may be applied to the face as
well. The lowest of the three major divisions extends from the tip of
the chin to the base of the nose, the next coincides with the height
of the nose (its top being level with the eyebrows), and the last with
the height of the forehead, while the remaining two-thirds of one of
these thirds represents the horizontal projection from the beginning
of the hair on the forehead to the crown of the head. The middle of
the three larger divisions locates the ears, which are the same height
as the nose (Illustrations 45, 47).
Such analyses of the figure, however conducted, reveals an
all-pervasive harmony of parts, between which definite numerical
relations are traceable, and an apprehension of these should assist
the architectural designer to arrive at beauty of proportion by
methods of his own, not perhaps in the shape of rigid formulæ, but
present in the consciousness as a restraining influence, acting and
reacting upon the mind with a conscious intention toward rhythm and
harmony. By means of such exercises, he will approach nearer to an
understanding of that great mystery, the beauty and significance of
numbers, of which mystery music, architecture, and the human figure
are equally presentments--considered, that is, from the standpoint of
the occultist.
V
LATENT GEOMETRY
[Illustration 51: THE HEXAGRAM AND EQUILATERAL TRIANGLE IN NATURE]
It is a well known fact that in the microscopically minute of nature,
units everywhere tend to arrange themselves with relation to certain
simple geometrical solids, among which are the tetrahedron, the cube,
and the sphere. This process gives rise to harmony, which may be
defined as the relation between parts and unity, the simplicity latent
in the infinitely complex, the potential complexity of that which is
simple. Proceeding to things visible and tangible, this indwelling
harmony, rhythm, proportion, which has its basis in geometry and
number, is seen to exist in crystals, flower forms, leaf groups, and
the like, where it is obvious; and in the more highly organized world
of the animal kingdom also; though here the geometry is latent rather
than patent, eluding though not quite defying analysis, and thus
augmenting beauty, which like a woman is alluring in proportion as she
eludes (Illustrations 51, 52, 53).
[Illustration 52: PROPORTIONS OF THE HORSE]
[Illustration 53]
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