mathematics

Wolfgang von Wersin

Wolfgang von Wersin is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Wolfgang von Wersin rather than just read about it. In short: Wolfgang von Wersin (3 December 1882 – 13 June 1976) was a Czech-born designer, painter, architect and author who developed his career in Germany. Born in Prague, he studied architecture at the Technische University of Munich (1901—1904) and, in parallel (1902 to 1905), he also studied drawing and painting at the Lehr- und Versuch-Atelier für Angewandte und Freie Kunst ("Teaching and Experimental Atelier for Applied…

Key takeaways

Wolfgang von Wersin belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Wolfgang von Wersin to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Wolfgang von Wersin from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Wolfgang von Wersin (3 December 1882 – 13 June 1976) was a Czech-born designer, painter, architect and author who developed his career in Germany. Born in Prague, he studied architecture at the Technische University of Munich (1901—1904) and, in parallel (1902 to 1905), he also studied drawing and painting at the Lehr- und Versuch-Atelier für Angewandte und Freie Kunst ("Teaching and Experimental Atelier for Applied and Free Art"), a reform oriented art school in the same city. Then, from 1906 onwards, after he completed his military service, became a tutor there. His constant collaborator and eventual wife, the German printmaker and draughtswoman Herthe Schöpp (1888–1971), met him as his pupil. In 1909 he began working as a designer for numerous firms, including the Behr furniture factory and the Meissen porcelain manufacturers. In 1929, he assumed the directorship of the Neue Sammlung established in Munich in 1925, the department for artisan art at the National Museum – and remained there until his illegal dismissal by the national socialists in 1934. In 1956 he wrote The Book of Rectangles, Spatial Law and Gestures of The Orthogons Described, in which he describes a set of 12 dynamic rectangles he calls orthogons.

Style Wersin's early designs are characterized by East-Asian forms; however, he eventually developed a style free of any kind clear of influence (including rural folk art) and achieved a timelessly classical style of great objectivity, revealed above all in articles for everyday use, such as porcelain, glass, tableware fabric and wallpaper.

Orthogon information Wolfgang Von Wersin's book about the Orthogons gives detailed information about how to construct and use a special set of 12 inter-related rectangles to create a design. They are similar to what Jay Hambidge called dynamic rectangles. The set of 12 Orthogons is determined by expanding a square through a series of arcs and cross-points until another square is formed on top, an exact duplication of the original square. Wersin also explains in the book how Orthogons can be detected and used in architecture, ceramics, furniture and works of art. The value of using Orthogons is explained in an excerpt that includes an extraordinary copy of text from the year 1558 (Renaissance). Diagrams of seven of the 12 orthogons are accompanied by a passage from the 1558 text cautioning that careful attention be given as the "ancient" architects believed "nothing excels these proportions" as "a thing of the purest abstraction." One of the orthogons, the hemidiagon, is apparent in the designs of synagogues in ancient Galilee. Mathematical ratios and another source for the term Orthogon: A well-known Orthogon, the Auron (golden rectangle), has been employed to create a range of designs from posters and chapels (Mies van der Rohe), to chairs. and glassware The Auron is related to musical harmony, in that the golden ratio is among the most dissonant musical intervals, and is also included in discussions on sacred architecture and sacred geometry as well as information regarding dynamic symmetry and aesthetics. According to Von Wersin, "The Orthogons are without exception root figures and are all irrational numbers. The calculations for measure relations of the Orthogons are based, without exception, on the Pythagorean doctrine." Examples of these root figure relations are: the Diagon relation is 1: square root of 2, the Sixton is 1: square root of 3 and the Doppelquadrat is 1: square root of 4. Mathematical ratios for all twelve Orthogons:

Ratios for all twelve Orthogons:

Quadrat 1:1 – Hemidiagon 1:1.118 – Trion 1:1.154 – Quadriagon 1:1.207 – Biauron 1:1.236 – Penton 1:1.376 – Diagon 1:1.414 – Bipenton 1:1.46 – Hemiolion 1:1.5 – Auron 1:1.618 – Sixton 1:1.732 – Doppelquadrat 1:2 (Quadrat is the German word for square, and Doppelquadrat for double square.)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wolfgang von Wersin

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wolfgang von Wersin claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Wolfgang von Wersin before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Wolfgang von Wersin ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Wolfgang von Wersin

In research: Wolfgang von Wersin appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Wolfgang von Wersin in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Wolfgang von Wersin is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1882 births, 1976 deaths, 20th-century German architects, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wolfgang von Wersin outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Wolfgang von Wersin in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wolfgang von Wersin means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Wolfgang von Wersin out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wolfgang von Wersin in simple terms?

Why does Wolfgang von Wersin matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Wolfgang von Wersin?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Wolfgang von Wersin.