Josep Subirachs is no doubt one of Spain's most brilliant and intriguing sculpture artists. Subirachs' magic square is nestled among on the bronze doors of the Passion façade, which depicts the last two days of Jesus' life, at La Sagrada Familia. (It can also be seen again behind the monumental sculpture "The Kiss of Betrayal.") The magic square solved reveals the age of Jesus at the time of the Passion.
Some 500 years earlier, Albrecht Dürer engraved a magic square as part of Melancholia 1, the first magic square seen in European art. In his fourth order magic square solved, Dürer reveals the number 34. While visiting the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, I found myself, unexpectedly, in front of this Dürer print. Even at his exhibit, I didn't come across any literature or hear any speculation on the significance of the number 34 for Dürer.
