Mandala – In Search of Enlightenment

The mandala, which originates from Indian culture, originally refers to a sacred circle. It serves as a meditation aid and at the same time reflects an ancient symbolism of strictly geometric basic forms, which is accompanied by an interpretation of sacred content. As an expression of the knowledge of higher-level relationships, this geometry based on symmetry can be found in a wide variety of works of art and architecture from different eras and cultural areas, for example in medieval book illumination, in the floor plan of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, in Kazimir Malevich's Black Square or in various objects of indigenous peoples in Africa, Asia, Australia or the Americas. Using these and other masterpieces from important museum and private collections as well as captivating photographs of unique buildings and rituals, the publication offers for the first time an impressive analysis of the phenomenon of sacred geometry in art and architecture and the world views underlying them.