This page collects a few images which feature polyhedra in graphic
art. Many come from works on perspective,
where polyhedra are used as examples.
First is a 1549 representation of the five Platonic solids by the German
graphic artist Augustin Herschvogel (1503-1553). The solid-edge form
imitates Leonardo's drawings in Pacioli's
Divine Proportion. It is interesting because it appears to associate
the Platonic solids with the four ancient elements of Earth, Air, Fire,
and Water in a different manner than Plato. I know of no other place
where this is done:
Next is a sculptural fantasy by Lorenz Stoer, from his
Geometria et Perspectiva (1567). I am quite impressed by the
freeform construction at the right, which could easily pass for a 20th
century sculpture:
This next image is the title page of Hans Lencker's Perspectiva
(1571):
And finally, a perspective drawing of a rhombicuboctahedron
with pyramids attached to each face, with shadows. It is from Paul
Heinecken's Lucidum Prospectivae Speculum (1727):
For a thorough history of perspective, see Martin Kemp's
The Science of Art (1990) from which some of the above images were
scanned. Others were scanned from the article by Tomlow listed in
the references.