Theodore Olivier Models: Intersecting Cylinders The fine strings of these figures depict the surfaces and intersections of shapes that were important to the new discipline of Descriptive Geometry. Theodore Olivier and other proponents of Descriptive Geometry wanted to develop a visually based alternative to algebra. Models like these helped students develop the visual imagination needed for this kind of mathematics. CHSI Inv. Number 5468 Circa 1856 Theodore Olivier