Trees depicted in famous artworks across a range of styles follow the same mathematical rules as their real-life counterparts ...

Leonardo da Vinci observed that tree limbs preserve their thickness as they branch. The Italian Renaissance artist used a parameter called α to determine the relationships between the diameters ...

The study authors are not the first to apply math to trees in art. Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci observed tree growth and came up with his own mathematical rule for painting trees.