0

z
~I

THE CIRCLE

... the circle is related to

the divine: a simple circle
has since ancient times
represented eternity, since
it has no beginning and no
end.

BRUNO MUNARI

ISBN 978-88-7570-040-9

9 ~~~~~l111~~1rn~ ~
BRUNO M UNA RI THE CIRCLE

.a...

-
IJrCI
TT-IE CJH CLE

Whil e th e squ a re is closely linked to ma n a nd

hi s constru ctio ns, to architec ture , ha rmo nio us
stru ctures, writing, and so o n , th e circle is re-
lated to the di ,ine: a simple circle ha s sin ce
an cie nt times re prese nted ete rnity, since it has
no beginning and no e nd. An ancie nt text says
th at God is a circle w hose centre is everywhere
but wh ose circumfe re nce is nowhere .
T he circle is esse nti ally unstable a nd d ynamic:
a ll rotary moveme nts and impossible sea rches
fo r pe rpetu al mo tio n de rive fro m the circle.
Despite be ing the simplest of the curves, it is
co nside re d by math e m aticia ns as a p o lygon
w ith an infinite number o f sides. If yo u re move
a n in visible po int fro m the circumfe rence of a
circle then it is no lo nger a circle but a patho-
circle, w hich presents compli cated pro blems. A
poin t ma rked o n its circumfe re nce eliminates
the idea o f ete rnity, indica ting a beginning a nd
th e refore an end to the circumfe rence itself. If
thi s ci rcle rotates o n the fl at, the po int m arked
o n its circumfe re nce describes a cyclo id. The
circle is easy to find in nature, a ll you have to
do is th row a stone into still wate r. Instead , the
sphe re appea rs spo nta neously in soa p bubbles.
Trees g row fo llow ing a concentric circul ar pat-
te rn: a sectio n shows its rings.
A circle drawn by hand showed th e s ki ll o f
Giotto. The first thing a child draws looks li ke
a circle. People spo ntaneously a rrange th e m-
selves in a circle w he n they need to obse rve
something close up, and this led to the orig in
o f the a re na, the circus and the stock excha nge
trading posts.
One o f the o ldest sy mbo ls is a d isk made up o f
two dy na mic equa l a nd o pposing pa rts: Ya ng-
Yin , which re prese nt the balance o f o pposing
forces in all li ving things.
Famo us pa inte rs have pa inte d o n a c irc ul a r
surface, eac h o f the m findin g co mpositio na l
solutio ns closely ti ed to the circul a r shape. In
ce rta in cases, such as in Botticelli 's Virg in w ith
Child , the fin al effect of the work appea rs sphe-
rica l to th e eye.
A di sk lying o n a flat surface ca nn ot be placed
wrongly, w hich is why plates are a lmost a lways
round ; and it is easier to arrange the m o n the
tabl e. If they we re hexagona l o r squ are o r ova l
it wo uld require g rea te r ca re to lay th e m o ut
w itho ut crea ting a se nse of di so rde r. A circle
instead is a lways tidy. This is eve n true r o f the
sphe re, w hi ch ca nnot be ove rturn e d in a ny
way. A sphe re is a lways the rig ht way up, so to
spea k, in any position.

G
 AGRIPPA

The magic circle of Agrippa.

AMATERAS

Popular Japa nese divinity dressed in reel and

standing o n a rock w ith th e solar disk o f the sun
in her right hand . According to legend Amateras
was born fro m the left eye o f the god I za nagui;
from th e mo m ent she was born her resplendent
beauty lit up the w ho le wo rld and l za nagui gave
her the empire of th e sun .

ACONA' B!CONB I'

Three d imensiona l constru cti o n obta ined by re-

peating and jo ining equal elements in the shape
of a ci rcular crow n . The overa ll shape changes
depending o n the number of elements used.
7
 TI-IE ARCHANGEL M l CI-IAEL

The magic c ircle o f the Archange l Michael.

TI-IE RING

The ring is sa id to o rig inate fro m Asia. Bo th

H ebrews and Egyptians wore rings. Initial ly th e
Ro mans o nl y wo re iro n rings w ith a sea l. Gold
rings were the mark o f people of high birth.
Each yea r, during th e reign of Pope Alexander
Ill , the Venetian Doges would throw a ring into
the sea on Ascensio n Day to symbo li se a marri a-
ge w ith the sea.

GROWTH RINGS

A cross-secti o n of a tree trunk.

8
HALO

MUSLIM AHCH

Structu ra l outline of an Arab ian-Moorish arch.

Portrait of St Francis by Simo ne Martini,

Assisi.
10
NEWTON 'S RI NGS TO HAVE FIN ISHED

If you put a slig htl y co nvex len s lit by a w hite After a sacrifi ce the ancients would make a cir-
light o n a fl at piece o f g lass a se ries o f conce n- cle in the altar usi ng the b lood o f the v ictim s
tric iridescen t rings app ea r at the spot where collected in a jar and th en th ey wou ld pro-
the two pi eces of g lass meet. If you use a red no unce a ho ly Greek wo rd mea ning to have
light in stea d o f a w hite o n e a large num ber .finished.
o f conce ntrated, reg ular rings, altern ately red
and dark , form aro und the point of contact; as
you gradu all y m ove away from the black spot
in th e ce ntre , th e distance b etween th e rings
diminishes. New to n di scovered that the radii o f
the dark rings are the sa me as the sq uare roots
of consecuti ve even numbers.

EQUAL AREA S

AN NUAL - BI ENN IAL

0e
Bo tanica l sig n s for annual o r biennial plants.

The surface outside the b lack ring , conta ined

within a wider circumference, is equa l to the
surface inside the bl ack ring. The radius is di-
v ided into fi ve equal parts.
II
 JAPAN ESE FLAG

O LYMPI C FLAG

DAVIDE BO RJAN J

M agneti c surface. Kin eti c o bject, shown at th e

Exhibition o f Prog rammed Art, O li vett i , May 1962,
Milan. Th e object m easures 80 cm in diameter and
co ntain s iro n powder kept in co nsta nt move ment
by a number o f magnets th at move in different
ways undern eath th e surfa ce, making an infinite
number o f p atterns.
12
BAPTI STERY

SOAP BUBB LES

A natural sphe re.

MAX BILL
The Baptistery at Pisa, one of the most bea uti ful
o ld bu ild ings o n a ci rcular base. Design made fro m a se ri es o f circ les. 1942 .
14
THE STOCK EXCHANG E

BOWLS

A ga me o f b owls al Mo nte O limpino .

A circular trading p ost at th e Stock Exchange.

GOO D SPIR IT S

BOTTICE LLI

Th e Virg in and Child . Uffi zi Ga llery, Florence.

Th e p arti cul ar co mpos iti o n and p ainting techni -
que g ive the round surface o f th e painting th e
A m agic circle to attract Good Spirits. impressio n o f being a sphere.
16
LANFRANCO BOMBELLI

Drawing, 1947.
18
 A MATAKAM HOUSE

At Mo ko lo in th e Cameroon are the houses of

ROU ND HUT
The two o ldest types of dwe lling have e ithe r a
sq uare or a round ground plan. The domed hut
is fo und in Australia a nd amo ng many Africa n
and Am erica n peoples.
the Matakam . Each room is cylindrica l and made
o f beaten ea rth crow ned by a conical thatched
roof. The rooms form a large enclosure. Each
room has a specific function; the number of
rooms is de te rmin ed by the number of fami ly
me mbe rs. There are n o openings for the light to
e nte r the rooms and o ne circul ates as if in a dark
circular maze .

Enclosure for a fam ily o f nineteen membe rs with

the room (or ho use) of the head of th e family;
ho use for the bull , ho use for the main wife, ho u-
ses for the o ther wives and children , house for
th e o ldest married son, house for an adult son,
ho use for th e water tank, the kitchen, houses
fo r the goa ts , larde rs, th e tank for the ashes with
w hich sa lt is made, the outer wall. The Matakam
keep the bu ll wa lled up in its ho use and it can
o nl y communicate w ith the o utside through a
small , very low o pening thro ugh which it ca nnot
pass. There is anothe r opening for scraping o ut
the manure. The bull is ke pt like this for three
yea rs, during which time it is feel and looked af-
te r. It is let o ut on the feast of the ancestors and
killed in a sole mn ce re mony performed unde r
BALL BEARING the direction of the Bu ll Master.
19
CARDIOID
A curve described by a point situated on a ci rcle
which rolls, without slipping, around th e circu-
mference of another circl e.
Astrologica l circles to ca lcul ate co nfi gurations.
20
CYCLOID
The cycl o id is th e path traced b y a fixed p o int
on th e circumference of a circle that rolls along a
given straight line. An interesting property of the
cycloid wa s discovered by Galil eo: w ith th e help
of th e cyclo id we ca n constru ct an area that is
exactly the sa me as that of the given circl e. First
o f all th e length of th e cyc lo id fro m cusp to cusp
is equal to four tim es th e leng th o f the diameter
o f th e generating circl e. On th e ba sis of thi s it
ca n be demonstrated that the area delimited by
th e p o rtion o f th e cyclo id b etween th e two cu -
sps and th e straight line that unites them is eq ual
to three times th e area o f the circl e. Th erefore
th e sp ace delimited b y each p art o f the circl e is
exactly th e sa me as the area o f th e circle itse lf.
COMPASSES
CU RTATE CYCLOID

A point traced out on th e in side of a circle

ro lling along a straight line generates a curtate
cycloid.

PRO LATE CYCLOID

CLEOPATRA
A point on the o utside o f a circle ro lling alo ng a
straight line describes a prol ate cyc lo id.
Cleop atra's magic circl e.

~- CYCLE

" A co nce pt introd uced by Laguerre: the cycle is a

circle with an arrow m arked o n its circu mferen-
ce. An eq ual circle w ith the arrow facing in the
opp osite directio n is ano th er, different cycle .

CLUST ERS OF SPJ-IERES

The thickest cluster o f spheres is obtained when

th e ce ntres of th e spheres form a rh ombohedric
network.
22
TH E POLYGONAL ClRCLE

000
0000
Circles w ith inscribed po lygons. The sa me is TH E MAG IC CJRCLE OF TH E COVENANT
true for circumscribed polygons. The me th od of
increasing or decreas ing polygons was kn ow n
to Archimedes w ho, using 96-sided polygons,
de monstrated that rr is less than 3 1/7 and mo re
than 3 10/7 1. The area of the circle is to be
fo und between th ese two fi gures.

O PPOSITION

Two circles th at to uch , like two w heels th at

move in th e o pposite directio n whe n they make
contact, symbolise o ppositio n.

CONE SPHE RE

Mode l of ex perim ental geometry made by the

School o f Ulm.
24
HORSE POWER CIRC LE

A whee l in which a horse produces powe r by The circle is o ne of the o ldest fi g ures in mathe-
wa lking a long its inte rnal circumfe re nce. This matics. The straig ht line is the simplest of lines
was used in the past to move the paddl es o n the but the circle is the simplest curve.
rive r boats. In China clogs were used to move
th e w hee ls o f small mills and priso ne rs were
used to bring water up to irrigate th e fi e lds.

CU RVES INS IDE AND OUT

Draw a circle with any radius a nd choose six

equidistant po ints o n the circumfe re nce. Ta ke
three alternate arcs and turn the m inwa rd s. The
pe rimete r re mains the same. The n trisect each
inte rn a l o r ex ternal arc and inve rt th e ce ntral
sectio n. By continuing this operation we obta in
a fin a l curve whose perimete r is equal to the
o riginal circle and an area equal to the inscri -
bed hexagon.
26
INSCRIBED CIRCLES

,'

Insc ribe a circle in a mi xtilinea r isosceles trian- Inscribe a circle in a curvilinear equilateral trian-
gle. gle w ith concave sides.

Inscribe a circle in a curvilinea r eq uilate ral tria n- Inscribe a circle in a curvilinear eq uilate ral trian-
gle of w hi ch three sides are convex and o ne is gle w ith convex sides.
concave.

27
 DIFFRACTI ON

Insc ribe a circle in a curvil inea r trian gle having

as sid es a semicircle and two arcs w hose radii
are eq ual to th e diameter o f th e semi circle it-
self

DECO RATI O

Diffra ctio n o f electro ns thro ugh a ve ry thin laye r

o f silver. Thi s is proves th e wave nature o f th e
electro n, and th erefore o f matter.

DANCE

Dan cing in a circle, bea tin g rh ythmi ca ll y, no o ne

is first, no o ne last, all are th e sa m e, all b ea t in
the sam e w ay. Th e start is slow th en th e rh ythm
takes ove r, a se nse o f infinity arises fro m this
human ring that turns and bea ts rh ythmi call y.
Ph o to Michel Huet.
28
VILLARD DE H ONNECOURT
O ne of the first drawings o f a perpetual mo tio n
m achine.
MAXWELL'S DISK
A turquoise and red disk in different adju stable
parts. By rota ting this disk you obta in a neutral
grey colour. The neutral shade of grey depends
o n th e two colo urs being exactly complemen-
tary. If the amount of reel is greater, you get a
redd ish grey and if the turqu o ise is grea ter the
resu lt wi ll be a bluish green.
30
THE SUN GOD
The reli gio n of ancient Egypt w as based on the
ador ation of the sun. Th e fo rm of the Sun Goel
Amon -Ra was a h awk o r a man w ith th e ap-
pearance of a hawk w ith a solar disk, travelling
throu g h th e sky. A n ancient c hant of Th ebes
says : Amon- Ra , divine hawk with shining p l u-
mage , tra ces with th e spread of his wi ngs a cir-
cle on th e va ult of th e sk ies.
Amenophi s JV, accord in g to hieroglyph ic inLer-
pretation , started a new cul t w ith the adoration
of th e rea l sun in place of th e Goel Ammon-Rf1.
Since th en th e su n god is simpl y represen ted by
a radia nt d isk.
GOD
"Goel is a circle w hose ce ntre is everywhere but
w hose circumference is nowhere". O ld sayin g.
CHROMATIC D ISK
Diagram of complementary colours on a chro -
m atic di sk . The num be rs marked by a sma ll
square indica te the relative positions o f the co-
lours o n the normal spectrum and the numbers
marked by a cross indicate the wave lengths in
ten -millio nth s of a millimetre.
 10

-~
--- 180

" ,
<V ,/
,

I
I
II
I o
/~
I
I

...... .... ___ L. __ _

tao
10
 MARCEL DUCHAMP

Di sks rotating at a co nstant sp eed w ith sp ecial

o ptica l effects, devised b y Marce l Duchamp in
1936
MUSLIM DECORATION

NEWTON'S DISK

A w heel made up o f sectio ns of different sizes in

all th e co lo urs o f th e sp ectrum , repea ted four ti -
mes. By ro tating th e disk at sp eed all th e co lou rs
blend into a lumino us w hite.

COMPOSITI ONS

Some examp les o f figures o btain ed with circles.

Muslim d ecora ti o n at Constantinople. disks and parts o f th em.
32
ETERNITY BENHAM 'S DISK

Take a white disk and cove r ha lf o f it in deep

b lack, then p aint co nce ntric bands o n the o ther
half. When it ro tates at a ce rtain speed you w ill
notice how instea d o f seeing conce ntric grey rin-
gs, th ere are co lo ured b ands, dark and of low
sa turation. Thi s lead s us to th e discon ce rtin g
co nclu sion m ade by S. I. Vavil ov that we ca nnot
base o urselves simply o n vis ual p erce ption to
d efine ligh t.

Eastern eternity symbol.

ACUSTJC EXPER IMENTS

In th e US experiments have been made o n th e

sound effects inside a sph ere large en oug h to
co ntain a p erson . The sound transmitted by th e
wa ll s makes the w h o le b ody resonate: sku ll ,
thorax , abdom in al cav ity and bo nes all vibrate
at o nce. To th e m an , it see ms that the sound
d erives from hi s b o dy. Th e mu sica l experience
is activa ted to th e fu ll , alth o ugh th e man rem ain s
pa ssive. His b o dy resounds and a read iness to
assimilate and individual wi ll are o f little impor-
tance.

Th e snake biting its tail is a symbol o f eternity.

OPTICAL EFFECT
34
 SPHERI CAL BUILD INGS

In aro und 1770 Claude-Nico las Led o ux desig ned

a giant sph ere as a symbo l o f eternit y for the
ce metery o f Ca ux. He al so d esig ned a sph eri ca l
ho me for th e caretakers ::is a symbo l of hu ma n
solitude. In 1800 Lequeu d esig ned a sph erica l
"Temple o f th e Earth ". Later, th e Ru ss ian co mpo-
se r and th eosophi st Al ek sa ndr Skrj abin designed
a semi -s ph eri cal bui lding w hich would stand
o ver th e w ater so th at its refl ecti o n wo u ld co m -
pl ete th e o ther half o f th e sph ere. Th e buildi ng
w as to be constru cted in India and w as to b e th e
site o f a ho ly p lay abo ut universa l redem pt io n .
Ru ss ian architects, w ho tended towa rds futuri -
sm , d esigned a suspended sph eri ca l huilding Lo
be used as a planetarium and rea ding roo m fo r
the Lenin Institute. In March 1958 Jo hann Lu do-
vi ci submitted a sph eri cal ho use mad e o f m etal
BUCKMI NSTER FULLER to the Lo ndo n Ex hibitio n .

One o f the many geod esic domes d es igned by

Fuller. In 1957 it took 22 ho urs to bui ld this eno r-
mou s d ome in Hono lulu for a se ries o f co ncerts.
Al l geod esic domes are built using prefabricated
parts and are easily assembled . In ce rtain cases,
som e d o mes w ere hung fro m a m etal ca hle and
transp o rted b y helicopter. Full er crea ted geod e-
sic d o mes in a wide range o f different m ateri als,
p lasti c, w ood and at th e Milan Tri enn al o f 1954
he made one o ut o f ca rdbo ard with a radius o f
approximately ten metres.

BALANCE

Th e three stages o f b alance o f a w heel: wi th

th e weight at th e to p it is un stabl e. With th e

0 0 CD
w eight at th e botto m it is stabl e. With th e we ig ht
in the ce ntre, it is neutral. Spo ntaneous mo ti o n
can o n ly arise in th e first case. This prin cipl e is
always put into practice fo r m odels o f m achines
----'"""'"'""'~-----===--------'"""""""''---- for p erpetual m o ti o n .
36
 CYLINDRICAL FOUNTAI N

The o uter cylinder is 2 metres hi gh with a diame-

te r o f 4 metres. It is made of iron with panels o f
coloured plastic materi a l curved like the blades
37
of a turbine. The othe r two inne r cylinders are
built o n the sa me principle . The o uter cylinder
is activated by a slow moto r and its colo urs a re
ne utral, fro m black to white. The medium cyli n-
de r turns with the wind and its colo urs are warm
and transpare nt, fro m yellow to purple a nd red .
The small cylinder is pro pe lled by a jet o f wa te r
and its colo urs are cold , fro m green to blue. The
rando m ble nding o f these colo urs as th e cylin-
ders rotate crea tes un expected e ffects.
Built for Mo nteca tini at the Milan Fa ir 1961.

SPHERICAL GEOMETHY

Whe n establishing his non-Euclidian principles

of geometry, Lobacevskij bega n w ith the de fi -
niti on of th e distance be tween two po ints as an
invariant o f move me nt; the n o n the bas is o f the
definiti on o f the dista nce betwee n two po ints he
was able to acid th e definiti on of th e surfa ce of
the sphere as a locus of the po ints in space equi -
distant fro m a give n po int. The de finiti o n o f the
circle o r, to be exact, the circumfe rence , fo llows
o n fro m that o f the sphe rica l surfa ce in that th e
circle is defin ed as a locus o f the po ints commo n
to two sphe ri cal surfaces . It fo llows th en th at th e
plane can be defin ed as a locus o f th e circles o f
inte rsectio n o f sphe res having the sa me radiu s
described around two fixed po ints w hi ch are
also po les o f the plane. In this way Lobacevskij
defin ed a limited po rtion o f the pla ne, the o ne
inside the ge ne rating circle. The infinity o f the
plane exists not as a fa ct but as the possibility
o f exte nding the area in all directio ns. Lastl y, he
de fin ed the stra ig ht line as th e inte rsectio n o f
two planes; o r rathe r the segme nt o f a stra ig ht
line as the diamete r commo n to two grea t circles
of a sphere .
38
YELLOW AND D EEP BLUE
In his boo k "Conce rning th e Spiritu al in Art"
Kandinsky describes th e o ptica l effect o f co-
lo urs. He says th at if you fill two circles o f eq ual
size, o ne ye llo w and o ne dark blue , you o bse r-
ve , afte r conce ntrating b riefl y o n o ne and the n
th e oth e r, that th e ye ll ow radiates outwa rds and
almost visibly co mes close r to us. The blue o n
th e othe r hand develo ps ce ntripe ta ll y a nd moves
away fro m us. The eye is stru ck by th e ye llow
circle while it is draw n into th e blue o ne.
TOYS AN D GAM ES
Many toys and ga mes a re based o n th e circle:
ring-a- ring-a- roses, the me rry-go- ro und , ro ule t-
te, th e hoo p, the to p , th e ball , th e pin-w hee l
and oth e rs.
PEOPLE IN A CIRCLE

Peo ple auto maticall y arrange themselves in a

circle w hen they want to look at something to-
gethe r. This probably gave ri se to the form of
the are na, the circus and th e trading posts at the
stock exchange. Photo by Lori Sammartino.
HIND U

Cosmic Hindu diagram.

IGLOO

The ho 111e of the Eskimo is a ho llow half-sphere

111ade w ith b lock s of snow. A lo ng open corrid o r
leading o utside provides ventilation while pro-
tecting the entrance fro 111 co ld winds.
It is sa id that 'a new hut is warmer than an o ld
o ne b eca use it is 111ade o f snow, w hile an o ld
hut is made o f ice'. Altho ug h it takes lo nger ro
bui ld an ig loo th an a tro pica l hut, it is o nl y a
tempo rary ho me for hunters and is aba ndoned
in spring w hen th e snow o n th e roof starts to
111elt and when the pudd les on the fl oor 111ake it
inhabitabl e. Ph oto by Mario De Biasi.
40
JOS EPH
Joseph's pro ble m is ce rta inl y o ne o f the most
fa mous a nd o ne of the o ldest. Depending o n
the e ra in which the sto ry is set, the people are
e ither Christians and Jews, Christia ns and Turks,
blacks and whites, good and bad . The o rig inal
sto ry was abo ut Jose ph , who found himself in a
cave w ith 40 oth er Jews firml y decided o n killing
th emselves rather than fa ce a n eve n worse fate
at the hands o f the Ro mans. Jose ph , who had
decided to save his own skin , arranged th e m in a
ci rcl e and established to ge ne ral agreement that
counting in threes aro und th e circle , th e pe rson
w ho was third , sixth etc would be kille d . In the
42
circle o f 41 people he ke pt 16th and 31st place
fo r himself and fo r anoth e r fa rsighted perso n.
Altho ugh he and his companio n rema ined to the
encl they we re able to avo id martyrdo m.
Anothe r ve rsio n o f this proble m has 15 Turks
and 15 Christi ans o n boa rd a ship tossed by a
storm; th e ship wo uld sink unless half the pas-
se nge rs we re thrown into the sea. Afte r a rran-
ging eve ryo ne in a circle, the Christia ns sugge-
sted th at th e eve ry ninth , e ightee nth etc pe rson
would be killed . Na turall y e no ug h, th e infide ls
we re arranged so as to spa re a ll th e Christi ans.
 LEONARDO DA VI NCI

Vari atio ns o n Leonardo 's principle o f the per-

petual m o tio n machine b ased o n free-moving
spheres.

KA NDINSKY

Circl es w ithin a circle, p ainting 1923. Louise and

Wa lter Arensberg Collectio n . Phil ad elphia M u-
seum of A rt.
43
PAUL KLEE

Sensitisation 0 f
sitio
. n. T he raisinlayers as ti
I e cen tre
Move ment and counter-mo vement. mvolves th e ... g of the point f changes po-
1a1smg o f t h e ho ri zo
o v1 s1o n I
n 1me. a ways

criatt.o n fro menerg

Patterns of
I y f o rm ati o n o f h .
growth of th t i_e centre and b t I e circle by ra-
tside. e 1adius from theyms1de tie progressive
to the ou-

44
 FRAN<;:OIS MO RELLET

Synth esis o f static and dynami c re latio nships.

Sphe rica l object o btained by soldering a series

o f metal rods of diffe re nt sizes at right angles.
De pe nding o n the po int of o bse rvatio n the object
e ithe r appea rs as a sphere with a cubi c stru cture
o r a hexagonal o ne.
45
MA NDALA

A symbol o f tota li ty. There are many versio ns o f

it: fro m the so-ca lled pre histo ric "circle o f the
sun ", to the circle th at surro unds and protects ,
to th e alchemist's mi crocos m and , lastly, as th e
mode rn symbo l that conta ins psych ic e ntirety.

RI NG MACHI NE

An iron ring is he ld by two cylinders attached to MIC H ELANGE LO

a curved arm . The ring is free and according to
th e invento r it shou ld turn and th e refore make The Ho ly Fa mi ly. Uffi zi Ga lle ry, Flo re nce.
the cylinders turn , because th e fo rce of gravity
w ill d raw it downwa rds. Howeve r th e ce ntre o f
gravity o f the ring a lways stays in the sa me p lace
so that the machine acquires pe rfect, immobile
eq u ilibrium.
46
 MERCURY MACHINE

BYZA NTINE MONOGRAM

Two cylinde rs in pe rfect contact with each othe r

and rotating in o pposite directi o ns inside a sea-
led box. The me rcury has bee n placed in the
uppe r, shaded pa rt and this sho uld put press ure
o n the cylinde rs, making th e m turn. All liquids
put pressure o n th e bottom o f th e recipient in
w hich they are contained but in this case the re-
HYDROSTATIC MACHINE cipie nt has no botto m but only wa lls. Therefore
the pressure is put o n the wa lls and, because it
Diagram fo r pe rpe tu al motion with liquid we i- is d irected towa rds the ce ntre o f th e cylinders ,
g ht. these re ma in still .
47
MACHI NE WITH SPHERES ENZO MARI

'
'I
\
''
l
Compos itio n no. 383. Aluminium and lamin a-
Perpetu al mo tio n machine. ted pl asti c, 67x23x20 cm , b lack , w hite and blu e.
Being greater th an the we ight o f th e o th er sph e- 1959
res, th e w eight o f the sph ere aro und th e curve
o ught to bring ab out the m o tio n .

Ph eno l ic resin sph ere containing cubic meshing.

Stru cture no . 969, diameter 12 cm .

Vari atio n o f the sa me prin ciple.

48
TRADEMARKS

WATCH

The turning o f the ha nds dete rmines th e most

logical shape o f this object.

NURAG HI

Ancient Sardini an co nstru cti o ns from the Bronze

Age o r perh aps ea rlier. They have a round base
Symbo ls and trademarks e ither ro und in shape a nd are bui lt w ith la rge sto nes. Some are as high
o r made up of e le me nts de riving fro m the cir- as 16 metres ta ll wi th a base di ameter of abo ut 30
cle. metres w hi ch the n ta pers towa rds the top.

50
EIGHT CIRCLES
In a given circle insc ribe e ight circles of different
sizes, placed symmet rica ll y and ta nge nt to eac h
othe r and to the given circle.
GIOTTO'S 0
At Pisa Giotto made such a marvello us painting
that.. "the work b rought him in th at city and
e lsewhe re such fame that pope Be nedi ct IX, ha-
ving the desire to ca rry out so me pa intings in
St. Peter's, sent one of his courti ers from Trevisi
to Tusca ny to see w hat kind of man this Giotto
was and what his works were like. The courti er
o n his way to see Giotto lea rned that th e re were
in Flo rence othe r excellent maste rs in pa inting
and mosa ic, and spo ke in Sie na to many ma-
sters. The n , afte r obtai ning drawings from them
he went to Flo re nce. Go ing o ne mo rning into
th e studi o o f Giotto w ho was at work, he descri -
bed to him w hat th e Pope had in min d and how
he wished to make use of his work , and fin a ll y
51
he asked him fo r a few drawings to send to His
Ho liness. Giotto, w ho was most well-manne red,
took some paper and using a paintbrush clip-
ped in red, held his arm still at the side like a
compass and , turning his hand , drew a circle so
perfect in curve and profile that it was a marve l
to beho ld . Afte r this, grinning at the courtie r, he
sa id : - Here is your drawing -. Thinking he
was be ing mocked he sa id : - Will I have any
other dra wing besides this' - This is mo re than
enough; - re p lied Giotto - send it along w ith
th e othe rs a nd you w ill see that it will be we ll
received .
"The e nvoy, seeing that he wo uld be g iven no
mo re, left most clissatisfiecl , and fea ring that he
had been tricked . Nevertheless, he se nt the Pope
the othe r drawings and th e names o f those w ho
had clone th em . He also se nt Giotto's draw ing,
explaining how he had draw n his circle with out
moving his arm and without using a compass.
This is how the Pope a nd his many exp ert cour-
ti ers lea rned that Giotto's excellence far surpas-
sed that of the o th er painte rs of his time. Once
th e news became known it gave o rigin to th e
saying still in use today about dim-witted me n:
"You are ro unde r than Giotto's O". This is a fin e
p rove rb not only due to the eve nt which gave
rise to it, but all the mo re so beca use its mea ning
is ambiguo us, since in the Tuscan language the
word rondo does not onl y mea n 'pe rfect circle '
but a lso o ne who is none too sharp.
''The Pope in vited him to Ro me w here, prai-
sing him grea tl y and recog nising his high me-
rit, he e ngaged him to pa int fi ve sto ries of the
life of Christ in the tribune of St Peter's, and to
exec ute th e main painting in the sacristy; he
executed these works w ith such grea t dili gence
that no better work eve r ca me fro m his hands.
To rewa rd his me rit and as a sign o f gratitude
the Pope paid him six hundred gold ducats and
bestowed upon him many favo urs, so that his
name beca me known thro ughout Italy".
D EMOSTRATIVE OBJECT SKF INITIAL PO INT

If we put an initial point o n the circumfe rence o f

a circle we o btain a new fi gure w hich is used in
the theory o f polyge ne o r complex fun ctions.

GOLD

The large glass disk has a metal rim with a groove

conta ining a numbe r of steel balls. The disk is
slightl y inclined and it rotates ve ry slowly so that
every so o fte n a ball se parates from th e to p part
and ro lls half way ro und th e circle until it jo ins
up w ith the first ba ll at the othe r end . Immedia-
tely, ano the r ball se pa rates fro m the othe rs and
so on ...
Mag ic circle used fo r making gold.

UMBRELLA

Japanese ba mboo um brella w ith wa terproof va r-

nished pa pe r. The spo kes o f the umb re lla come
fro m a single ba mboo ca ne . Whe n the um bre lla
is closed the spo kes fit back into the shape o f
the ca ne th ey were cut fro m and th e umbrella is
enclosed inside it.
52
GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY
After staring for a whi le at the centre of this fi-
gure, most people suddenly see a differe nt sc he-
me. The radii that in the first drawin g served as
edges to the narrow sectio ns become th e ed-
ges of the wider sections. Clea rly, the layout of
the scheme has changed and it te nds to change
again. The rhythm at w hich the two figures alter-
nate will gradua ll y increase as the pe rson stares
at the centre of the figure .
ASTROLOGICAL PLANISPHERE
54
1T
In the Book of Kings and in the Chronicles, rr is
give n as 3. Egyptian mathe mati cians gave it the
va lue o f 3. 16; th e decimal 3. 1416 was known at
the time of Pto lemy in the yea r 150 BC.
PATHOCIRCLE
Another variatio n o n th e circle was introduced
by the eminent Ame rica n mathe matician , C. ].
Geyser. This co nsisted in taking a ci rcle and re-
moving a po int fro m it. Although the fi gure ca n-
not be drawn beca use a point has no exte nsio n,
it was a n impo rtant change in concept. Keyse r
ca lled the new figure a pathocircle, meaning a
pathological circle, and he used it to discuss the
axioms o f logic.
THE PROBLEM OF APOLLONIUS
Give n three circles, find the ci rcle tange nt to
them. The problem ca n be solved simply using
rule r and compass and there are e ight possible
solu tions.
CONCENTRJ C WAVES
One o f the natural forms o f the circle.
POLAROID
G raphic symbol o f Po laro id filters.
PSEUDOSPHERE
Geom etric form determined by the ro tati o n o f a
tractrix around the lo ngitudinal axis. Th e tractrix
is a curve p erpendicular to a fam il y of equal
circles, p laced at equal distances , whose ce ntres
are on a straight line.
56
PAFFARD KEATINGE CLAY
Plan o f a building to be used for exp erimental
p erform ances o f d ance , mu sic and light effects
designed for th e Ca rl Cherry Foundatio n in Ca-
li fornia .
X HOUR
O bj ects o f kinetic art, crea ted by Munari in 1945.
Fifty numbered pi eces were m ade b y Danese o f
Milan. Th e half-disk s in the ce ntre of the object
are transp arent and turn b y clockwork, thus
compos ing co ntinuo usly changing geometrica l
fi gures.
GIOVAN NI PI NTORJ

D rawings.

INDIAN BALL

A flexib le wi re structure m ade o f circu lar arcs. A

se ries o f geometric figures ca n b e o btained b y
chang ing its shape in different w ays.
58
LUCA PACIO LI

Letter of the "dignissimo antico" alphabet by

Luca Pac io li.

Variatio ns o n th e shape o f the Ind ian ba ll obta i-

ned by be nd ing the object in va ri o us ways.
60
RAPHAEL CIRCULAR PENTAGRAM

The Madonna of th e Chair. Pitti Ga lle ry, Flo re n- Musical anno tatio n of a sound-making object,
ce. with no beginning o r end.

ROMANESQUE

Cross of Trinity Church at Caen .

61
BERNARD REDER THE WHEEL

The ea rli est archa eologica l evide nce of the whee l

dates back to th e urba n cultures of Mesopota-
mia . The first wh eels were simply solid wooden
disks firml y jo ined to an axle th at turned a lo ng
with the wheels. Late r o n, hubs were inve nted
and ho les we re made in the solid disk. These
ho les gradu all y increased in size until the idea
o f spo kes was introduced. Whee ls w ith spokes
existed in Asia Minor as ea rl y as 2700 BC.

THE WHEEL AS A SYMBOL

The wheel is also a sy mbo l of th e sun , of d ivi-

nity and good luck and it has always been used
as an o rnam e nt. To celebrate the solstice in the
past blazing w heels were ro lled clown slo pes
and narrow wooden hoops we re th rown into
th e a ir.

Sphe rica l theatre. The audie nce is sea ted alo ng a

continuously moving inte rnal spira l. The actio n
takes place in the centre of the sphe re. Ve ry lig ht
mate rials need to be used in its constru ctio n.

GOTHIC ROS E-WINDOW

Rose-window of the Sa nta Chia ra Bas ilica at As-

sisi. Photo by Paolo Mo nti .
62
RADAR DECREASING RADI US

Draw a circle. Inside this, d ra w an equilate ral

triangle . Draw a nothe r circle inside the tri angle.
Draw a square inside th e seco nd circle. Draw
another circle inside this sq uare a nd fo llow this
w ith a pentagon. Continu e, adding an extra side
to each po lygo n. The radius o f the circles may
appear to get shorter a nd sho rte r, te nding to
zero, but it is not so. What rea lly happens is th at
the process o f contraction itse lf te nds to a limit
th at appears whe n the po lygo n and circle have
beco me a lmost equal. The dec reasing radius ap-
proaches a limit of abo ut 1/ 12 of the radiu s o f
the o rig ina l circle.

INCREASING RADI US

Rada r at the Vande nberg auxiliary statio n follows

th e path of the artifi cial satellites through space.
The network o f the radar statio ns exte nds fro m
the US coast o f th e Pac ific to Hawa ii and no rth
to Alaska.

CELTIC SEAL

Closely co nnected to the problem o f th e d ecrea-

sing radiu s is the proble m o f circumscribing ra-
the r than insc ribing po lygons and circles.
64
In this case it may appea r th at the radius, in-
creasing beyond eve ry limi t, becomes infinite.
Instead , it comes close to a limit o f abo ut twe lve
times th at of th e rad ius of the o rigina l circle.
It is in te resting to note how at th e limit th e in-
creasing rad ius has beco me recip roca l to the de-
creasing o ne.
65
POTTER'S WHEEL
The po tte r's wheel was known in Egypt before
th e beginning o f the third mille nnium BC. Cre-
tan craftsme n used it in th e ea rliest stages o f
the Bron ze Age and it was a lso kn own in many
parts o f India. It ap pea red it Eu rope , in France
and southe rn Ge rm any, in a round 500 BC, w hile
it was unknow n o n th e Ame rica n co ntinent.
WRITI NG
The sign o f the circle lies at the base of almost
all alphabets o r ideograms. These signs are com-
mo n to Azilian, Mega litic, Cretan, Ameri can , Ca-
nary Island w riting and ca ve painting.
CONNECTED SPHERES
A search for pe rpetu al motio n using connected
sphe res. The greate r we ight o f the sphe res o n
the longer arm sho uld ca use the mechanism to
turn.
Va riation of th e idea with co nn ected sphe res o n
inclined surfaces.
66
COSTS
Little di sks e ngraved o n o be lisks o r pyrami ds
wo uld appea r to re fe r to the mo ney spe nt o n
th ese mo nume nts. If the disks are arranged in
a circle it mea ns th at public mo ney was spe nt,
if instead they are in a line it was fin a nced by
priva te fund s.
DR EAM
In his book Fl ying Sa uce rs: A Mode rn Myth o f
Things Seen in the Skies, Ca rl Gustav Jung de-
scribes the fo llowing drea m to ld to him by an
acqu a inta nce : .. . I must stress how bea utiful the
sphe re was with its soft grey o r o paq ue w hi te
aga inst the night sky. Wh en we rea lised that a
te rribl e collisio n was abo ut to ta ke place w ith the
ea rth , we we re, o f course, afra id bu t it was a fear
in w hich reve re nce preva iled . It was a cosmic
eve nt that ca used great awe . While we were a ll
abso rbed in that visio n a second and the n a third
sphe re appea red, and the n othe rs approached at
great speed . Each sphere exploded o n th e ea rth
like a bomb but evide ntl y at so great a d istance
th at I was un able to de fin e the nature o f th e
explosio n, o r deto natio n, o r w hatever it was. In
o ne case at least I had the impressio n I had see n
a fl as h o f lig htning. The sphe res fe ll a ll around
us at inte rva ls, but all so fa r away th at it was
impossible to pe rceive th e ir destru ctive actio n.
The re seemed to be so me sort o f a da nger o f
shra pne l effect o r something s imil ar. The n - I
must have go ne ho me - I fo und myse lf talking
to a g irl sitting o n a wicke r cha ir...
 GO LDEN SECTION

SH INTO

Shinto symbo l: th e revolving o f the unive rse.

EMPIRE STYLE

Constru ctio n o f th e golden sectio n o n the ra-

dium o f a given circle .

STONEHENGE

Site o f the fa mo us ruins of a circular stone ring

erected in around 1400 BC o n Salisbury Plain
in England. The 80 roughly hewn pillars and
architraves that make up the ma in circle, each
we ighing abo ut 50 tons, see m no t to have been
fo und o n the site but to have come fro m the
Prescell y Hills in Wales. The sto nes we re phy-
Decorative pattern o n Fre nch cloth. sica lly transported overland for many miles and
67
then were ca rried o n ra fts made o f tree trunks to
coastl and nea re r Sto ne he nge, w he re th ey were
aga in moved by human force. Around the circu-
lar group of sto nes are other circles of ho les at
equ al distances. Excavation work has brought to
light Irish tools and weapons, go ld Mycenaea n
jewelle ry and amber o bjects fro m centra l Euro-
pe which point to a fl o urishing trade with othe r
peoples.
The central ring, still standing today, co nsists o f
a mo re recent circle o f sto nes which we re cut
and worked nea rer Stonehe nge. In the ce ntre is
a large block of sa ndsto ne measuring a lmost 5
me tres (16 ft) in le ngth . An adventurous Gree k
architect might have come to Stone he nge and
used th e tec hniqu es lea rned fro m his people to
build this stone circle , o r henge.

A COLUMN OF SP HERES

A mobile o bject, Programmed Art. The sp he res

are held by three sheets o f glass. The first sphere
at the botto m sits on the pulley o f a very slow
motor. All the spheres turn by fri ction , thereby
constantl y changing the combinatio n of the cur-
ved white strips painted o n the m. Munari 1962,
Olivetti collection. Photo by Mulas.

KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN

Karlheinz Stockhausen imagines an idea l au-

ditorium fo r e lectronic music, in the form of a
sphere . In the centre the public are seated o n a
platform bui lt to let the sound pass th rough so
that they ca n hea r the music from all directions.
Lo udspeakers are placed all a ro und the inte rio r
of the sphere.
68
 METERO LOG JCAL SIGNS

Fro m left to right: clea r sky, cloudy sky, solar

halo , lunar halo, rainbow, mirage, solar corona ,
lunar coro na.

LAYER OF CIRCLES

If at a ll the knots of a netwo rk made up of equi-

late ral triangles we draw some circumferences
whose radii are equ al to half the length o f the
sides of the triangles, we o btain a syste m o f cir-
cles whi ch to uch but never overlap. This system
of circles is called a layer o f circles.
69
SAME AREA

The two shaded parts have the sa me area as the

circle that generated them.

SOLOMON

SYMBOLS OF MARTYRDOM

CHINESE SPHERE

A ca rved ivo ry ball containing e leven o ther balls,

o ne inside the othe r, all de rived from the same
block using a coni ca l drill bit and othe r tools.
All the balls move freely inside eac h o the r, fro m
the sma llest in th e centre to the largest o n the
The great magic circle of Solomon. o utside.
70
 TURBINES

A turbine consists of an infinite num ber o f con-

tinuous ele me nts arranged so that the external
part is placed over a circumference and the in-
te rnal parts must all incline equ~lly with respect
to th e circumference. There is a whole geometry
of turbines that dea ls with continuous groups of
transformations connected to differentia l eq ua-
tions and diffe re ntial geometry, introduced by
Edward Kasne r.

TARGET SHOOTING
MUSLIM TALISMAN

TRINITY

One of the symbols of the Trinity.

72
THE ROUND TABLE

According to Breton trad ition , the lege ndary kni -

ghts of King Arthur used to sit at a ro und table
to sym bolise the fac t that a ll were eq uall y bound
to do the ir duty. TR ULLI

An cient ston e dwe llings, almost all of which are

o ne storey high. They have a circular base and a
co ni ca l roof. Houses with mo re than one room
are made up o f cyli ndrica l constru ctio ns, o ne
for each room, connected by passageways. The
most famou s trulli are at Albe ro be llo and in the
va lley aro und Martina Franca.
73
TANGENTS

Draw several circles tange nt to each other and to

th e outside of a given circle.

Draw four circles tangent to three straight lines

which are symmetri ca ll y crossed.

'' '
'' ' '
'\ ' ', ''
', .... __' , ''
'

Inscribe a circle in a curvilinea r isosceles trian-

gle.
74
 TORU TAKEMITSU

' '
'I ''
I '
I
I
\
'
I \
I
'
I
I
I
I

,,
I
\
' ' ,' I

Given a straight line and two points o utside it,

draw a circle passing through these two points
and a point o n the stra ight line.

''
\ Pianist's wheel for musical annotatio ns with no
beginning and no end. A series of music sheets
'',,'',,,',,,' of the same size but w ith different annotations
can be fitted in to crea te a number of va riatio ns
,,,,<,, at w ill , based o n a sche me g iven by the Japane-
' \ se composer.
,, '
'' '' '
' '.
,,
- ;"-
',
,
'
,- ,
,' ,,
'->--
1'

Draw a circle passing through two given points

on another circle .
75
Draw several circles tange nt to eac h othe r and to Draw two circles tange nt to a stra ight line and
the inside of a give n circle . to a g ive n circle .

'
:"\
"'''
-.::::: _______'i_ - -

-----'=--r-..~=-----
j/
........,...I...._
~. .

Circles tangent to eac h othe r and to the sides of Dra w a circle ta ngent to ano the r o ne at a gi-
a given triangle. ve n po in t and to a stra ight line at a nothe r give n
po int.

76
Draw a circle w ith a g iven radiu s, tangen t to two Draw three circles tange nt to each oth er and in-
othe r give n circles. side a give n equilate ral triangle.

Draw a circle tangent to a nother o ne at a g iven Draw three circles tangent to each other and in-
point and passing through another one situated side a give n curved equil ate ral tri angle.
inside o r o utside the ci rcle itself.

77
Draw two tangents common to two given ci rcl es
with different radii .

ALL IS WELL

Solution A

,-

...-...- - - - -;- - - - - - Sign o f understanding among beggars .

. . . . . i_-----

Solution B
MARY VIEIRA

Circle + movement= fo rms. Object made of ano-

dised aluminium , diameter 33 cm Basie 1953-
1958
78
Mobile circular surfaces in the ir sphe rical space.
Anodised aluminium , Mary Vieira , Basie 1953-
1958.

80
YIN - YANG LU DO LP H VAN CEULEN

A fa mo us Ge rman mathe matician. In 1596 he

ca lculated the value of rr to 35 decimal places .
The result he o bta ined was 3.1 4159 26535 89793
23846. According to his wishes the number was
e ng raved o n his headsto ne as his e pita ph .

MARQUIS O F WO RCESTER

In around 1000 BC, so me ano nymo us Chin ese

sages no ticed that e ve rything in nature results
from the unio n of two o pposing fo rces . They
ca lled these Yin and Yang and re prese nted th e m
w ith a di sk m ade up of two equ al sha pes in
compl e mentary colo urs, such as blac k a nd w hi-
te.
Eac h fo rce has its own ma ny qu alities and
nu ances: Ya ng, the positive force, re presents
masculini ty, actio n , wa rmth , hardness, dryness, Model of a perpetual mo tio n machine . In 1663
brilliancy and firmness; it is the essence o f fire the Marquis published a co llectio n o f his very
and light, the foo t o f a hill , th e ri ve r source, and bi za rre inve nti o ns . He beca me fam o us howeve r
so o n . Yin o n th e o th er hand is th e negative for hi s sa uce.
principl e: feminine, coldness, humidity, softn ess,
da rkness, myste ry, secrecy, eva nescence, ne bu-
losity, turbidity and inacti o n . It is th e essence of
shad ow a nd wa te r, the no rth side of a hill , th e
mo uth of a ri ve r.... De pe nding o n w hethe r Yang
o r Yin preva ils, things appea r diffe re ntly: Ya ng
is predominant in th e sky, Yin o n th e ea rth. O ne
of the principles may preva il in a give n thing at a
certain time and th e n th e othe r may do minate.
81
FAN

M ONO CYCLE

A se ries of equ a l sticks determin es the shape o f

this type of fo lding fan .

Ame rican mode l.

82
INDEX

As all th e subjects in this boo k have been ar-

ranged in a lphabe ti ca l o rde r (as far as make-up
allows) no index is necessa ry.
Books and publications consulted:

N. I. Lobacevskij: I NUOV! PRINCIPI DELLA GEOMETR I A. Einaud i, Torino 1955.

S. I. Vav ilov: L'OCCH IO E IL SOLE. Feltrinelli , Milano 1955.
Hugo Steinhaus: MATHEMATICAL SNAPSH OTS. Oxford University Press , New York 1960.
ENCI CLOPEDI A DELLA CIVILTA ATOMICA. JI Saggiatore, Milano 1959.
David Diringer: L'ALFABETO NELLA STORI A DELLA CI V ILTA. Barbera , Firenze 1953.
Rudolf Koch: THE BOOK OF SIGNS. Dover publicat ions inc. , New York 1955.
Ernst Lehner: THE PICTURE BOOK OF SYMBOLS. Penn , New Yo rk 1956.
ARTE PROGRAMMATA. O li vetti , Milano.
Ce leste Malavasi: SETTECENTOCJNQUANTA MECCANISMI. Hoepli , Milano 1937.
Ca millo Bruno: IL PROBLEMA DEL MOTO PERPETUO. Lavagn o lo, Torino.
Pau l K lee: TEORIA DELLA FORMA E DELLA FIGURAZ!ONE. Feltrinel li , Milano 1956.
Helmut Th. Bossert: ENCYCLOPEDIE DE L'ORNEMENT. A lbert Morance, Paris 1955.
Ca rl G. Jung: SU COSE CHE SJ VEDONO NEL CIELO. Bompiani, Mi lano 1960.
Edward Kasner / James Newman: MATEMATICA E lMM AG I NAZ l ONE. Bompiani, Milano 1948.
Alexander Speltz: LES STYLES DE L'ORNEMENT. Hoepli , Milano 1949.
Juliu s E. Lips: L'ORl GlNE DELLE COSE. Sansoni, Firenze 1947.
Pierre Schaeffer: A LA RECHER CHE D 'UNE MUSI QUE CONCRETE. Ed itions du Seui l, Paris 1952.
Gyorgy Kepes: THE NEW LANDS CAPE. Paul T heobald , Chicago 1956.
Michel Huet et K . Fodeba: LES HOMMES DE LA DANSE. Editio ns Clairefonta ine, Lau sa nne 1954.
Umberto Eco e G. B. Zorzoli: STORIA lLLUSTRATA DELLE INVENZIONI. Bompiani , Milano 1960.
IL MONDO DELLA NATURA. M o ndadori , Milano 1962.
Robert W. Marks: THE DYMAXJON WORLD OF BUCKM I NSTER FULLER. Reinhold , New York 1960.
Edouard Fer: SOLFEGE DE LA COULEUR. Dunod , Pari s.
ARCHITECTURES FANTASTIQUES. L'architect ure d 'aujo urd 'hui , Paris.
SCIENTIFIC AMER ICAN. Scient i fic American i nc. , New Yo rk .
Matila C. Ghyka: ESTETIQUE DES PROPORTIONS. Ga llimard, Paris 1946.
Sigfried Giedion: BREVIARI O DI ARCHITETTURA. Garzant i, Milano 1961.
David Hilbert e S. Cohn-Vossen: GEOMETR IA I NTU ITIVA . Boringhieri, Torino 1952.
Wassily K andinsk y: DELLA SPIRITUALITA NELL'ARTE. Religio, Ro m a 1946.
THE CIRCLE
DI SCOVERY OF THE CIRCLE
Bruno Munari

1964 Bruno Munari

All rights reserved by Maur izio Corraini s.r.I.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means (electronic or mechanical , including
ph otocopying, recording or any information retrieval system)
without permission in writing from the publisher.

Origina l first ed ition published in 1964 Scheiwil ler, M il ano

Mau ri zio Corraini first edition May 2006
Mauri zio Corra ini seco nd rep rinr Jun e 2012
The publisher will be at complete disposal to whom mi ght be related
to the unidentified sources printed in this book.

Translatio n co rrainiScudio
Printed in Ita ly by Sti lgraf, Viadana
2nd reprint Jun e 20 12

Maurizio Corraini s.r. I.

Via Ippolito Nievo, 7/A
46100 Manrova
Tel. 0039 0376 322753
Fax 0039 0376 365566
e-mail : sito@corraini .com
www.co rraini .com