Artists and architects found out that any imitation of real nature would never be sufficient to produce beauty that is why they went in search of a reliable recipe which would explain what makes for beauty. They believed that they have found such beauty in the teachings of the classical writers on the proportions of the human body. So, the search for novelty and effect may have interfered with the ordinary purpose of art and architecture. The classical solution of perfect harmony is not the only solution conceivable; natural simplicity is only one way of achieving beauty. The fact is that from the Renaissance outwards, almost to our own time architects have used the same basic forms, columns, pilasters, and moldings, all of which were originally borrowed from classical architecture; the Renaissance in particular. Keywords: the human body, perspective, imitation, simplicity, beauty