The Entasis of Columns from Blondel to Lagrange: Mathematical Games in Search of the Greatest Stability

Two objectives guided the research on the shape of columns. The first, which dates back to Antiquity, is aesthetic. The second, relative to mechanics, was only pursued by some authors of the eighteenth century, who were seeking the greatest stability. Before becoming part of the domain of mechanics, the study of entasis evolved from research of a purely aesthetic nature to an aesthetic research based on mathematics. The mathematisation of the aesthetic problem of entasis first, and then its study via the search for the greatest stability of the column, forms the objective of this chapter.