PROVING OF FERMAT’S THEOREM
PRESS RELEASE (in Finnish)
Pierre de Fermat was a French mathematician, philosopher, and poet who lived around four centuries ago. He did not leave behind extensive treatises but only a few theorems he proved in letters to his acquaintances, friends, and family. The foundations of two of these theorems were almost entirely lost in a fire. One of them was later proven by Euler 150 years afterward, in a manner Fermat himself could not have imagined. The theorem known as “Fermat’s Last Theorem” has never been conclusively proven by Fermat himself. However, it serves as a cornerstone of modern number theory and is often likened to the concept of a perpetual motion machine in its historical significance.
The nearly burnt letter containing a proof written in the margin has long fascinated Andrei Jahnin, an artist who interprets intuition and “extreme emotions.” Lacking mathematical talent, Jahnin chose oil paints, a brush, and a canvas as his tools. After a month of intensive study and time spent in front of the canvas, he felt that the theorem had indeed been proven. Taking the risk of being labeled mad, he invited two renowned mathematicians to verify his work. While they found no errors in his “proof,” they could not believe Jahnin had actually solved the problem. What great mathematicians had failed to prove in a century was unlikely to be solved through painting. The situation was highly unconventional.
The seven paintings by Andrei Jahnin, a young Moscow-based artist, depict the resolution of Fermat’s Last Theorem and are now on display in Small Hall in Pori Art Museum in April. They are exhibited alongside the large-scale CORRESPONDANCES installation by French artist Philippe Cazal. Both Jahnin and Cazal explore the essence of art, balancing meticulous precision with intuition and chance. Their works reflect the intersection of conceptual art techniques and the distinct cultural contexts from which they originate.
Andrei Jahnin (b. 1966 in Moscow) previously exhibited in Finland at the Pori Art Museum as part of the World Champions group exhibition of Moscow-based artists in 1991. At that time, Konstantin Zvezdotshetov, reflecting on the group’s motivations, remarked: “The more dramatic the situation, the more the individual revels in testing the strength of their spirit.”
At the 1990 Venice Biennale, Andrei Jahnin explored the fundamental principles of music through visual art in his Sonata installation, albeit somewhat serendipitously. Now, during the exhibition in Pori, his latest attempt to resolve Fermat’s Last Theorem will be scrutinized by institutions such as the Paris Academy of Sciences and the universities of Cambridge and Harvard.
Pierre de Fermat (1601–1665) was a contemporary of Descartes and discovered a method for representing equations using curves. Influenced by Pascal, Fermat began exploring probability theory. He clearly understood the foundational concepts of differential and integral calculus, applying them to problems such as tangent lines and probability calculations. Fermat’s contributions to number theory are invaluable: he proposed numerous conjectures, though he left behind no formal proofs. One of these is the so-called Fermat’s Last Theorem:
When nn is a positive integer greater than 2, no positive integers x,y,x, y, and zz satisfy the equation xn+yn=znx^n + y^n = z^n.
Fermat’s own proof of this claim has never been found, nor has a definitive proof been devised for centuries, despite the significant interest it has generated. The Göttingen Academy of Sciences has promised a substantial reward for anyone who can provide a conclusive proof.
Translated with ChatGPT