Yesterday, I learned that JS Bach had a special seal that he used throughout his time in Leipzig, where he worked for the last 27 years of his life. In the picture above, you can see how the seal consists of his initials, “JSB” and a mirror image of the initials superimposed on one another. Above them is a crown.

Not much is known about the specific meaning of the seal, but it’s still easy to see that it is wonderfully appropriate for Bach. It’s mathematical, ornate, and ordered. Numbers and patterns are everywhere. Discrete elements are combined by mathematical means to make a new form, a new creation.