[mattdm]

Ever wonder where the common "rule of thirds" came from? The entire internet seemed to not know. I did some research and found a 1797 book (at the Harvard library) which appears to be the original source — some musings by painter, engraver, and author John Thomas Smith.

Here's the article on photo-SE (which is awesome, by the way) with the extended quote from the original:

composition - What is the "Rule of Thirds"? - Photography - Stack Exchange

Cool, huh? (Well, I think so.)

[Manel Brand]

I did some research and found a 1797 book (at the Harvard library) which appears to be the original source

The golden rule or golden ratio is much older than that.

[hcc]

+1
This a very, very old rule.

It was used during the Renaissance, but comes from much earlier during the Antiquity, possibly from Greece and/or Egypt.

[mattdm]

The golden rule or golden ratio is much older than that.

Although the term "golden ratio" isn't — that dates to sometime after 1835.

But, that doesn't matter, because the rule of thirds isn't the golden ratio.

As you can see, the historical conception of the rule of thirds appears independently, and apparently without knowledge of that particular bit of math.

Now, you're welcome to argue that the power of the rule of thirds comes from its similarity to the golden ratio, but the rule itself doesn't seem to.

+1
It was used during the Renaissance, but comes from much earlier during the Antiquity, possibly from Greece and/or Egypt.

Euclid wrote the first definition around 300BC, calling it the "extreme and mean ratio". But he wasn't talking about composition in the visual arts; he was just concerned about geometry, and merely notes it as an interesting number mathematically.

Although it's possible the ancients used the golden ratio in composition and architecture intentionally, no written record of that survives. It wasn't really until the Renaissance that that caught on, and then only sporadically as a written-about intentional design. (One can superimpose various golden rectangles on art and speculate, but in many cases that's simply a case of finding what you're looking for.) It isn't really until the modern era that people started using the golden section explicitly.

I'm not saying that phi isn't cool. It just isn't historically related to the rule of thirds.

[RioRico]

I'll co-opt an old electronics / computer / engineering truism: The nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them. The same can be said about composition and layout typography rules, revealed truths, chiles rellenos, etc. We can use rules of halves or thirds or fourths or fifths etc. (Then there's the old rockabilly song lyric, I've got four on the floor and a fifth under the seat, but that's another story.) Rules of strong verticals and/or horizontals and/or diagonals and/or curves. For every justification, there is a rule to support it. That's nice. What, me worry?

[mattdm]

I'll co-opt an old electronics / computer / engineering truism: The nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them. The same can be said about composition and layout typography rules, revealed truths, chiles rellenos, etc. We can use rules of halves or thirds or fourths or fifths etc. (Then there's the old rockabilly song lyric, I've got four on the floor and a fifth under the seat, but that's another story.) Rules of strong verticals and/or horizontals and/or diagonals and/or curves. For every justification, there is a rule to support it. That's nice. What, me worry?

Definitely. I was just curious about the actual historical origin of this particular one. If you think that might be interesting, this link is for you.

[Manel Brand]

Although the term "golden ratio" isn't — that dates to sometime after 1835.

But, that doesn't matter, because the rule of thirds isn't the golden ratio.

As you can see, the historical conception of the rule of thirds appears independently, and apparently without knowledge of that particular bit of math.

Now, you're welcome to argue that the power of the rule of thirds comes from its similarity to the golden ratio, but the rule itself doesn't seem to.

Since the topic is on the origin of the rule of thirds, all I was saying was that the "rule of thirds" is a simplified version of the golden ratio. I must have misunderstood your point.

[mattdm]

Since the topic is on the origin of the rule of thirds, all I was saying was that the "rule of thirds" is a simplified version of the golden ratio. I must have misunderstood your point.

Well, part of the point is precisely that, in origin at least, the rule of thirds is not "a simplified version of the golden ratio".

You can argue that John Thomas Smith must have known of the golden ratio and derived the rule from that even if he doesn't mention it, but since he says that his ⅔ : ⅓ is "much better and and more harmonizing" than "any other proportion whatever", it doesn't seem likely.

[Manel Brand]

...the rule of thirds is not "a simplified version of the golden ratio".

I made this to, very roughly, illustrate the idea:

[mattdm]

I made this to, very roughly, illustrate the idea:

I think you're missing the point. I'm not arguing that the number 0.618 isn't very close to 0.667.

[Manel Brand]

I think you're missing the point.

I've already told you that. I don't see the point in copying an old rule and pretend it's a new one because it doesn't match precisely. OK, forget about it.

[mattdm]

I've already told you that. I don't see the point in copying an old rule and pretend it's a new one because it doesn't match precisely. OK, forget about it.

Again, the point is that the rule was clearly not "copied" from the "old" rule. It's independently derived.

You're welcome to go on believing whatever you like, but if you're interested in actual history, check the sources.

You can also theorize that the rule of thirds is an accidental near-miss discovery of the golden ratio, and that it's the golden ratio which gives the rule of thirds any special power that it may hold. That's of somewhat more interest, but I think is doomed to be a matter of faith rather than science. (Unless you've got some grant money to disperse.)

[mattdm]

Actually, the entire point isn't anything to do with phi. That's of some interest, but isn't it interesting on its own to find the origin of a phrase which so many people know?

[RioRico]

In Irish-accented Anglish, it's "rule of t'urds". Just don't step in it.

If you think that might be interesting, this link is for you.

I read it. It is interesting. Phi isn't 2/3. Every idea starts somewhere. Maybe with tic-tac-toe?

EDIT: I just glanced through a bit of my library of design books, graphics and layout typography, drawing, etc. None have RULE OF THIRDS in the index. Many examples seem to be modified versions of that paradigm: the image divided bilaterally on the long axis, and into thirds or the golden section on the short axis. Layouts like these:

XXX
XXX

or

XX
**

[mattdm]

Interestingly, on researching further, it turns out that the idea of the golden ratio in aesthetics, including the idea that the golden rectangle is the most appealing of them all, isn't ancient, or even from the Renaissance. It comes from Romantic-Era Germany, and in specific a guy named Adolph Zeising! Sure, Euclid wrote about the thing, but only as a mathematical number of special interest.

Zeising constructed a philosophical foundation for a system explaining all of nature, and the idea that a simple number with elegance in pure math expresses itself in the universe around us is very fitting for the time — so it caught on. In no time, people were looking for the golden ratio everywhere. And they found it everywhere, as long as you line up the grid just so and never mind the inconvenient bits.