teachings, and those of others like him, eventually led artisans to design the many
intricate patterns seen in Islamic art today.What is a Vedic square?
Historically, in order for Islamic artisans to create a variety of geometric patterns, a
Vedic square was often used. (The Vedic is an ancient religion associated with India;
for more information, see below.) These squares generate patterns by the selection of
number sequences and angles. Each square is made by taking a multiplication table
and reducing all the numbers to single digits. (For example, if a number in the table
was 81, it would be reduced by adding 8 1, or 9.) Then, to get a design, for example,
a certain line of numbers would be chosen, such as connecting all the number 5s; and
by using a fixed angle of rotation with the lines, various designs were drawn. These
number patterns are distinctively Islamic and helped create many of the famous tradi-
tional Islamic geometric designs seen today.Who was M. C. Escher?
Maurits Cornelius Escher (1898–1972) was a Dutch painter famous for his mixing of
376 art and mathematical concepts. He had no formal math training past secondary
Moorish architecture, as seen in this example of the La Mezquita Cathedral in Andalucia, Cordoba, Spain, fea-
tures beautiful designs that emphasize geometric shapes and symmetry. Photographer’s Choice/Getty Images.