The Vitruvian Man
Stories behind the Works of Art
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The Vitruvian Man (ca.1490) – Leonardo da Vinci
The Vitruvian Man is a study. It is a drawing in one of those notebooks Da Vinci had, where he took notes, analyzed and drew conclusions about the proportions of the human body. A drawing that is an emblem of the Renaissance, a true icon. It is a symbol of the new interest in human beings, as it was a time when humanism and anthropocentrism displaced God and the Church from the center. (That is, philosophy and thought began to revolve around the human being, becoming more “earthly”).
Undoubtedly, if there is indeed a “Renaissance logo,” this is it.
But who was Vitruvius?
Fifteen centuries separate Vitruvius from Da Vinci.
Vitruvius was a Roman architect who lived in the first century BC, the time of Julius Caesar, for whom he worked. Vitruvius studied the mathematical proportions of anatomy, which would define the perfect man.
Leonardo da Vinci transcribed all of Vitruvius’ observations in his Canon of Human Proportions, one of the studies found in his notebooks. (Canon means “model or prototype that has the characteristics considered perfect in its genre.”)
Da Vinci added his own observations, corrections, and conclusions, and then drew the result in pen and ink, creating one of the most famous drawings in the history of art.
The Renaissance is the “rebirth” of the models of harmony and beauty found in the works of classical antiquity, ancient Greece and Rome. Leonardo took up those studies of Vitruvius some 15 centuries later, and it is not a coincidence.
How are these proportions described? Here are some examples of the conclusions reached by Vitruvius:
“The distance from the chin to the base of the nose is one third of the face.”
“The forehead is equal to a third of the face.”
“The head, from the chin to the crown, is one eighth of the whole body.”
“The length of the foot is equal to one-sixth of the height of the body.”
The Vitruvian Man is in The Galleries of the Academy of Venice. But it is not exposed because of its fragility, to avoid its deterioration. It is usually “shown” only once every ten years.
Recommended links:
Characteristic Elements of Renaissance Painting.
The Four Greatest Painters of the Italian Renaissance.
Artistic Movements from Classical Antiquity to Rococo.
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