This fascinating exploration of the juxtaposition of art and physics is, in my opinion, a revolutionary look at physics role in our world. Schlain traces the development of art from the middle ages up to modern day. He examines much more than perspective, color, composition and other parameters usually used to critique a piece of art and discusses the relationship a piece has with a particular law or theory of physics.

He begins the book with a discussion on the development of perspective in painting during the border of the middle ages and the renaissance and the impact it had on the art world. He spends much of the first half of the book discussing the impressionists. As he begins this discussion on the impressionists he introduces their correlation with Einstein's theories on the speed of light. The new physics is the dominant issue in the second half of the book and he also focuses more on explaining the new physics than their relation to modern art.

This adventure through fairly unexplored territory can open the physicist's mind up to the world of art and can open the artist's mind up to the world of physics. By doing this he attempts to show the world just how related the two are. Shlain offers up evidence showing us the intimate face of physics and proves that it is not so alien.

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.