Albrecht Dürer magic square

magic square in Melencolia I

Albrecht Dürer magic square

A magic square is a matrix where all the rows, all the columns, and the diagonals add up to the same number.

Albrecht Dürer appeared to achieve the impossible. Not only did all the rows, the columns and the diagonals add up to 34, the four quadrants, the centre square and even the four corner squares, all add up to 34! Not only that, he managed to embed the date 1514, the date Melencolia I was completed, the engraving in which the magic square was hidden!

Magic squares were created by mathematicians in India and Egypt four thousand years ago.

Melencolia I is part of the Rosenwald Collection in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.

Albrecht Dürer was the ultimate Renaissance Man – artist, philosopher, alchemist.

The magic square in Melencolia I forms part of the plot in The Lost Symbol (2009) by Dan Brown.

Melencolia I

Melencolia I by Albrecht Dürer

An engraving on laid paper by Albrecht Dürer.

Melencolia I depicts Man’s struggle to comprehend the Ancient Mysteries. It is replete with symbols, many of which we have yet to interpret. The level of symbolism is such that it makes Leonardo da Vinci appear overt in comparison.

Melencolia I, completed in 1514, is considered to be the seminal work of the Northern European Renaissance.

One of the symbols hidden within Melencolia I is a magic square. Contained within the magic square is the number 1514, the year in which the work was completed.

Melencolia I is part of the Rosenwald Collection in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.

Albrecht Dürer was the ultimate Renaissance Man – artist, philosopher, alchemist.

Melencolia I is part of the plot of The Lost Symbol (2009) by Dan Brown.