Oeuvres de Desargues

This 1864 edition reintroduced the important, previously lost, works on geometry of the French mathematician Gérard Desargues (1591–1661).

Gérard Desargues (Author), Noël Germinal Poudra (Edited by)

9781108032575, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 10 November 2011

546 pages, 26 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 3.1 cm, 0.69 kg

The French mathematician and engineer Gérard Desargues (1591–1661) was one of the founders of projective geometry. Desargues' theorem is named in the honour of this prolific writer of treatises on geometry and its application to the arts and architecture. His important writings, which had been lost, were published in 1864 by the mathematician and scientific historian Noël-Germinal Poudra (1794–1894). Poudra's two-volume edition, republished here, reveals the major role played by Desargues in the scientific debates of the seventeenth century. It includes a biography of Desargues, in which Poudra discusses his role as architect, as well as his influence on famous scientists of his time including Pascal and Descartes. Volume 1 contains the majority of Desargues' treatises, including 'Perspective' (1636), followed by an analysis by Poudra, and the 'Traité des Coniques' (1639), with a lexicon of the scientific terms used.

Préface
Biographie de Desargues
Renseignements biographiques
Perspective de 1636
Traité des Coniques
Brouillon project
Coupe des pierres, perspective, gnomonique
Gnomonique
Gnomonique, manière de poser le style
Recueil de propositions diverses
Proposition fondamentale de la pratique de la perspective
Autre fondement, du fort et du faible
Fondement du compas optique
1re proposition géométrique
2e proposition géométrique
3e proposition géométrique
Perspective adressée aux théoriciens
1re reconnaissance de Desargues placée en tète de la coupe des pierres de Bosse 1643
2e reconnaissance, placée en tète de la Gnomonique de Bosse
3e reconnaissance, placée en tète de la Perspective de Bosse
Extraits de divers écrits et affiches.

Subject Areas: Geometry [PBM]