Mathematicians pay considerable attention to the aesthetic qualities of their discipline; this explains why many of them think that mathematical and artistic activities are to some extent very similar, or comparable. Such an attitude also explains in part why mathematicians have periodically not only attempted to explain the fascinating beauty of their discipline, but also to interpret and analyze art through mathematics. On the other hand, there are many cases of artists, from different periods, who have been fascinated by mathematics and have tried to use its ideas and techniques in their work. And some artists have indeed been forced to become mathematicians, as happened during the Renaissance.