Oliver Byrne — The Elements of Euclid (I.47)

Euclid in colour instead of letters — in 1847 Oliver Byrne proved the Pythagorean theorem in blocks of pure colour.

The document

The colour proof of Proposition I.47 from Byrne’s Elements of Euclid (William Pickering, London, 1847), reproduced faithfully — flat red, blue, yellow and black.

About the artist

Oliver Byrne (1810–1880) replaced Euclid’s lettered diagrams with coloured figures “for the greater ease of learners” — a book a century ahead of its design.

The print

Printed to order and made to last. Choose Museum Matte (heavyweight matte art paper) or Fine Art Giclée (Hahnemühle cotton paper — the archival standard). The Métrica museum caption — artist, title, date and source — is printed as part of the piece, set in our house type. Free US shipping on orders over $75.

Oliver Byrne · The Elements of Euclid · I.47, colour proof · 1847 · First edition · London, 1847 · Public domain.