Your mathtext.fontset is probably set to the default value dejavusans. Adding

plt.rcParams['mathtext.fontset'] = 'dejavuserif'

should give you what you want.

Wow, this is really unexpected. For me at least.

TODO:

• update http://matplotlib.org/users/text_props.html#default-font to include this detail (or find a better place!)

Fixed by #8853

I think this is something that should not be "fixed" by adding documentation, but, you know, actually be fixed.

@maxnoe Not clear what you mean by "actually be fixed".

The font set used for normal text is necessarily different from the one for MathText. As an example, Comic Sans MS does not have an integral symbol, right? So it makes sense to set both types individually with the respective rcParams.

This is changed behaviour compared to previous versions. Math sans text is in itself something very rare and not well supported (E.g. there is no open type math sf font).

But one should have at least have the option to just set a family then for math fonts. E.g. mathtext.fontfamily: serif

Also, Deja Vu Serif isn't actually a math font. There is TeX Gyre DejaVu Math, is matplotlib using this?

All math fonts i know are serif fonts:

• Latin Modern Math
• Libertinus Math
• Stix Math
• XITS Math
• TeX Gyre {Bonum, Pagella, Schola Termes} Math
• Asana Math
• Cambria Math¹
• Lucida Math¹
• Minion Math¹

¹ commercial or proprietary fonts

The font tables for the DejaVu fonts can be found at https://dejavu-fonts.github.io/Samples.html

There are currently 5 supported math fontsets ('dejavusans' (default), 'dejavuserif', 'cm' (Computer Modern), 'stix', 'stixsans'). You are able to select any of those via the mathtext.fontset rcParam. Introducing yet another rcParam to automatically choose one of those seems a bit overkill. Plus it would become very intransparent which font is finally used in cases where mathtext.fontset and the newly proposed rcParam contradict each other.

In any case if you feel that the current documentation can be improved at any point, people will be happy to hear your suggestions.