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Art and Arithmetic

Bulent Atalay’s new book ‘Math and the Mona Lisa’ to appear mid-March.

Date published: 2/20/2004

You always hear it’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for—and indeed, Bulent Atalay is one to watch.

To peek into the life of this soft-spoken man is to be amazed. His quiet ramblings reveal an astounding personal history.

Intrigue seems to run in the family blood. Atalay’s grandfather died while battling Lawrence of Arabia, and his father was a Turkish military attaché to London, Paris and Washington.

But Atalay maintains his family’s precedent of accomplishment.

He is scientist, artist, and writer.

Atalay accidentally ended up in physics when an admissions secretary at Georgetown University misread his college application stating his desire to become a physician as physicist. However, after taking a few courses, Atalay discovered a dormant talent for the field.

He is now a professor of physics at Mary Washington College, an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia, and a member of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton.

Atalay is also an accomplished artist.

“I grew up with art. We were living in France and my parents bought some really wonderful 18th- and 19th-century pieces,” Atalay said.

“I had some art lessons there, and my art teacher believed in teaching art by copying masters. I agree, you learn from great artists much better than you do from mediocre art teachers,” he explained.

Apparently his teacher’s technique worked. After he produced a book of lithographs in 1972 titled “Lands of Washington: Impressions in Ink,” the queen of England wrote to Atalay, asking him to do another book of lithographs of England. He complied, creating “Oxford and the English Countryside,” in 1974. His works are now housed in The White House, Buck-ingham Palace, and Smithsonian Institution.

So what is this virtuoso’s most recent project? He has just completed his newest book. “Math and the Mona Lisa,” published by Smithsonian Press, is scheduled to appear in stores mid-March.

Atalay explained his interest in Leonardo da Vinci.

“I think he has all my same passions, but he did them so much better,” he said.

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Date published: 2/20/2004