Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man (1492). Pen and ink with wash over metalpoint on paper, 344 × 245 mm.

The Vitruvian Man is a world-renowned drawing with accompanying notes created by Leonardo da Vinci around the year 1492 as recorded in one of his journals. It depicts a nude male figure in two superimposed positions with his arms and legs apart and simultaneously inscribed in a circle and square. The drawing and text are sometimes called the Canon of Proportions or, less often, Proportions of Man. It is stored in the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice, Italy, but is only displayed on special occasions.^[1][2] Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 441 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2258 × 3070 pixel, file size: 5. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 441 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2258 × 3070 pixel, file size: 5. ... “Da Vinci” redirects here. ... “Da Vinci” redirects here. ... Not to be confused with 1492: Conquest of Paradise. ... The Gallerie dell’Accademia is an art gallery housed in the former monastary in Venice, Italy. ... For other uses, see Venice (disambiguation). ...

Description

This image exemplifies the blend of art and science during the Renaissance and provides the perfect example of Leonardo's keen interest in proportion. In addition, this picture represents a cornerstone of Leonardo's attempts to relate man to nature. Encyclopaedia Britannica online states, "Leonardo envisaged the great picture chart of the human body he had produced through his anatomical drawings and Vitruvian Man as a cosmografia del minor mondo (cosmography of the microcosm). He believed the workings of the human body to be an analogy for the workings of the universe." It is also believed by some that Leonardo symbolized the material existence by the square and spiritual existence by the circle. Thus he attempted to depict the correlation between these two aspects of human existence.^[3] According to Leonardo's notes in the accompanying text, written in mirror writing, it was made as a study of the proportions of the (male) human body as described in a treatise by the Ancient Roman architect Vitruvius, who wrote that in the human body: This article is about the philosophical concept of Art. ... Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ... The Renaissance (French for rebirth, or Rinascimento in Italian), was a cultural movement in Italy (and in Europe in general) that began in the late Middle Ages, and spanned roughly the 14th through the 17th century. ... Vitruvian Man, by Leonardo da Vinci. ... ... Cosmography is the science that maps the general features of the universe; describes both heaven and earth (but without encroaching on geography or astronomy) A representation of the earth or the heavens. ... Macrocosm and microcosm is an ancient Greek schema of seeing the same patterns reproduced in all levels of reality. ... The notes on Leonardo da Vincis famous Vitruvian Man image are in mirror writing. ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... An architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect is a person who is involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction. ... Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (born ca. ...

• a palm is the width of four fingers
• a foot is the width of four palms (and is 12 inch)
• a cubit is the width of six palms
• a man's height is four cubits (and thus 24 palms)
• a pace is four cubits
• the length of a man's outspread arms is equal to his height
• the distance from the hairline to the bottom of the chin is one-tenth of a man's height
• the distance from the top of the head to the bottom of the chin is one-eighth of a man's height
• the maximum width of the shoulders is a quarter of a man's height
• the distance from the elbow to the tip of the hand is one-fifth of a man's height
• the distance from the elbow to the armpit is one-eighth of a man's height
• the length of the hand is one-tenth of a man's height
• the distance from the bottom of the chin to the nose is one-third of the length of the head
• the distance from the hairline to the eyebrows is one-third of the length of the face
• the length of the ear is one-third of the length of the face

Leonardo is clearly illustrating Vitruvius' De architectura 3.1.3 which reads: Three archaic hand units of measurment: 1: Palm * 2: Span 3: Hand * In English, a Palm is commonly used to represent four fingers held together. ... This article is about a foot as a unit of length. ... Cubit is the name for any one of many units of measure used by various ancient peoples. ... De architectūra (Latin: On architecture) was a treatise on architecture written by the Roman architect Vitruvius and dedicated to his patron, the emperor Caesar Augustus. ...

The navel is naturally placed in the centre of the human body, and, if in a man lying with his face upward, and his hands and feet extended, from his navel as the centre, a circle be described, it will touch his fingers and toes. It is not alone by a circle, that the human body is thus circumscribed, as may be seen by placing it within a square. For measuring from the feet to the crown of the head, and then across the arms fully extended, we find the latter measure equal to the former; so that lines at right angles to each other, enclosing the figure, will form a square.

The multiple viewpoint that set in with Romanticism has convinced us that there is no such thing as a universal set of proportions for the human body. The field of anthropometry was created in order to describe these individual variations. Vitruvius' statements may be interpreted as statements about average proportions. Vitruvius goes through some trouble to give a precise mathematical definition of what he means by saying that the navel is the center of the body, but other definitions lead to different results; for example, the center of mass of the human body depends on the position of the limbs, and in a standing posture is typically about 10 cm lower than the navel, near the top of the hip bones. Wanderer above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich Romanticism is an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated around the middle of the 18th century in Western Europe, during the Industrial Revolution. ... Illustration from The Speaking Portrait (Pearsons Magazine, Vol XI, January to June 1901) demonstrating the principles of Bertillons anthropometry. ... In physics, the center of mass of a system of particles is a specific point at which, for many purposes, the systems mass behaves as if it were concentrated. ...

Note that Leonardo's drawing combines a careful reading of the ancient text, combined with his own observation of actual human bodies. In drawing the circle and square he correctly observes that the square cannot have the same center as the circle, the navel, but is somewhat lower in the anatomy. This adjustment is the innovative part of Leonardo's drawing and what distinguishes it from earlier illustrations. He also departs from Vitruvius by drawing the arms raised to a position in which the fingertips are level with the top of the head, rather than Vitruvius's much higher angle, in which the arms form lines passing through the navel.

The drawing itself is often used as an implied symbol of the essential symmetry of the human body, and by extension, to the universe as a whole. Sphere symmetry group o. ... For other uses, see Universe (disambiguation). ...

It may be noticed by examining the drawing that the combination of arm and leg positions actually creates sixteen different poses. The pose with the arms straight out and the feet together is seen to be inscribed in the superimposed square. On the other hand, the "spread-eagle" pose is seen to be inscribed in the superimposed circle.

It is obvious, that there is no "da" in the signature at all. The signature is:"Leonardo Vinci". Francesco Melzi, assistant and heir, put also "Leonardo Vinci" under the portrait he made of Leonardo Vinci.^[4]

The drawing was in the collection of Giuseppe Bossi, who illustrated it in his monograph on Leonardo's The Last Supper, Del Cenacolo di Leonardo Da Vinci libri quattro (Milan 1810).^[5] The following year he excerpted the section of his monograph concerned with Leonardo's "Vitruvian Man" and published it as Delle opinioni di Leonardo da Vinci intorno alla simmetria de'Corpi Umani (Milan: Stamperia Reale, 1811), with a dedication to his friend Antonio Canova.^[6] Giuseppe Bossi. ... The Last Supper (Italian: or LUltima Cena) is a 15th century mural painting in Milan created by Leonardo da Vinci for his patron Duke Ludovico Sforza and his duchess, Beatrice dEste. ... Self-portrait by Canova, 1792. ...

Dedicated by the author to his friend, the neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova, this discussion of Leonardo's theory of human proportions is extracted from Bossi monograph on the Last Supper, pp. 202-26 (No. 318).

After his death in 1815 it was acquired with the bulk of his drawings by the Accademia.

A modern take on Vitruvian Man

The Vitruvian Man remains one of the most referenced and reproduced artistic images in the world today. The proportions for the human body, as proposed by Vitruvius, have inspired many other artists in drawing their version of the Vitruvian Man: Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 401 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (3396 × 5075 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 401 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (3396 × 5075 pixel, file size: 1. ...

• Cesare Ceasariano (1521) who edited the important 1521 edition of “De Archtectura” of Vitruvius (Leonardo da Vinci is supposed to have provided the illustrations for this edition).
• Albrecht Dürer (1528) in his book Vier Bücher von menschlicher Proportion (Four books on human proportions)
• Pietro di Giacomo Cataneo (1554)
• Heinrich Lautensack (1618)
• William Blake (1795) “Glad Day” (now known as "Albion rose"). This representation is without the circle and square.
• Rob ten Berge Vitruvian Man (2), Vitruvian Female, Vitruvian Brain, Vitruvian Isis, Vitruvian Maria etc. Cosmology.

• [Vitruvian Man 2]

Albrecht Dürer (pronounced /al. ... Pietro di Giacomo Cataneo was an Italian architect. ... William Blake (November 28, 1757 – August 12, 1827) was an English poet, visionary, painter, and printmaker. ...

Notes

Representations in modern times

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Image File history File links Broom_icon. ...

Movies

• the movie Pi
• the movie Stranger than Fiction
• In the movie Hellboy, the title sequence shows a drawing of Hellboy posed as the Vitruvian Man.
• In the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, a slideshow is shown when Professor Snape takes over Defense Against the Dark Arts. The lesson was werewolves, and the slideshow showed many pictures from different times and places, each depicting a werewolf. One of them was the Vitruvian Man, but with a werewolf instead.
• In Dan Brown's book and movie, The Da Vinci Code, one of the characters is found dead, having placed himself in the position of the Vitruvian man.
• In Tim Burton's movie Corpse Bride Elder Gutknecht is finding out how to make a certain potion for Victor and the Corpse Bride (Emily) to use and as he flips through a dusty book there is a quick shot of "Vitruvian Man" in the bottom right corner of the left page. Instead of a human being there, there is a skeleton.
• In the movie Hackers, the Da Vinci computer virus is seen as the Vitruvian Man, animated and making demands.

Ï€ (or Pi) is a 1998 American psychological thriller directed by Darren Aronofsky. ... Stranger than Fiction is a 2006 American comedy-drama film. ... Hellboy (also known as Super Sapiens in Malaysia) is an American supernatural thriller, directed by Mexican director Guillermo del Toro. ... Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a 2004 fantasy adventure film, based on the novel of the same name by J.K. Rowling. ... Dan Brown (born June 22, 1964) is an American author of thriller fiction, best known for the controversial 2003 bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code. ... This article is about the novel. ... Timothy Tim William Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an Academy Award-nominated American film director, writer and designer. ... Tim Burtons Corpse Bride is a 2005 Academy Award-nominated stop-motion-animation film based loosely on a 19th century Russian-Jewish folktale version of an older Jewish story and set in a fictional Victorian era England. ... Hackers is a 1995 film that follows the misfortunes of the young hackers Dade Murphy (Crash Override/Zero Cool, played by Jonny Lee Miller), Kate Libby (Acid Burn, played by Angelina Jolie) and their friends. ...

Television

• in the TV-series “The Simpsons” (Season 3 episode "Saturdays of Thunder" and Season 10 episode "Mom and Pop Art")
• in the titles of the long-running British current-affairs TV show World in Action.
• In the TV Show, America's Next Top Model in Cycle 5, the models posed for a representation of art photoshoot. One of the models, Nik, posed as the Vitruvian Man.
• In the opening sequence of the 1997 British television satire Brass Eye, Christopher Morris assumes both positions of the Vitruvian Man (thanks to special effects).
• In the crime-drama series Bones, the logo for the Jeffersonian Institute features the Vitrivuian Man in the centre.
• In the TV show Now and Again, the Vitrivuian Man was featured in the opening credits.
• In the popular science fiction/drama series, Quantum Leap, physicist Dr. Sam Beckett begins his time travel adventures by placing himself inside a nuclear accelerator (synchotron) chamber which is to begin the reversal process on his body. The way he is shown in the chamber is very similar to the way the Da Vinci Vitruvian Man is positioned.
• In the Spongebob Squarepants episode Patrick SmartPants, Patrick is looking through a book about jellyfish. In the top right hand corner is a drawing of the Vitruvian Man, only a starfish.
• The second season intro to the Iron Man animated series, at one point, cuts to a computer screen displaying the Iron Man armor schematic posed the same as the Vitruvian Man.
• In the TV-Series “Veritas: The Quest” (Season 1 episode 11 The Lost Codex). UNAIRED IN U.S.

Simpsons redirects here. ... Bart the Murderer is an episode of the The Simpsons third season. ... Mom and Pop Art is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons tenth season. ... World in Action was an investigative current affairs series produced by Granada Television in the United Kingdom from 1963 to 1998. ... “ANTM” redirects here. ... Brass Eye is a UK television series of satirical spoof documentaries which aired on Channel 4 in 1997 and was re-run in 2001. ... Chris Morris may refer to : Chris Morris (satirist) Chris Morris (activist) Chris Morris (basketball player) This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... A miserable stubborn cantankerous old mans, whos actually quite good humoured & an enjoyable compadre to play online alongside if you catch him on a good day. ... Now and Again was an American television series which aired in the USA on the 24th September 1999 and ran till 2000 on CBS. The story revolves around the United States government developing the perfect human body for use in espionage, but not being able to yet perfect the brain. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Quantum Leap is a science fiction television series that ran for 97 episodes from March 1989 to May 1993 on NBC. It follows the adventures of Dr. Samuel Beckett (played by Scott Bakula), a brilliant scientist who after researching time-travel, and doing experiments in something he calls The Imaging... Not to be confused with physician, a person who practices medicine. ... For the DC Comics Superhero also called Atom Smasher, see Albert Rothstein. ... A synchrotron is a particular type of cyclic particle accelerator in which the magentic field (to turn the particles so they circulate) and the electric field (to accelerate the particles) are carefully synchronized with the travelling particle beam. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Production Order Patrick SmartPants is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season four. ... For the film, see Iron Man (film). ... Veritas: The Quest is a fictional television program. ...

Literature

• on a few Disney Comics, particularly on an Italian Mickey Mouse comic where Donald Duck is the Vitruvian Duck. And Mickey Mouse would pose as the Vitruvian Man.
• Spider-Man, on covers and documents for the crossover Spider-Man: The Other
• Book cover art — "The Physics of Superheroes" by James Kakalios
• The comic strip "Monty" features a version of the Vitruvian Man (wearing boxer shorts) in the title panel of its Sunday strips.
• Creature illustrations in the style of the Vitruvian man were printed in Privateer Press' No Quarter Magazine, in issues #7 and #11.
• The first edition (and some subsequent editions of) the Scottish author Alasdair Gray's novel 1982, Janine depicts a pastiche of the Vitruvian Man. In Gray's version, the man perhaps, but not definitely, a representation of the novel's main character, has only one set of arms, stretched upward, and looks slightly to the right rather than straight ahead.
• In Terry Pratchett's illustrated novel "The Last Hero", the inept wizard Rincewind is portrayed as the Vitruvian Man by Leonard da Quirm (the Discworld equivalent of Leonardo da Vinci).
• In Alastair Reynolds' novel Pushing Ice the Vitruvian Man makes an appearance, adorning a message sent from the future to humanity. It was chosen for its recognizability.

This advertisement for Disney Comics ran in the issues published at the milestone of their first year. ... Donald Duck is an animated cartoon and comic-book character from Walt Disney Productions. ... Mickey Mouse is an Academy Award-winning comic animal cartoon character who has become an icon for The Walt Disney Company. ... Spider-Man swinging around his hometown, New York City. ... The Physics of Superheroes is a book by James Kakalios first published in 2005 that explores the scientific side of superhero comic books. ... James Kakalios is a professor of physics at the University of Minnesota. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Robotman (comic strip). ... Privateer Press is a role-playing game and miniature wargame production and publishing studio. ... The cover of the hardback edition; the background of Ys is a reference to sexual practices described in the book 1982, Janine is a novel by the Scottish author Alasdair Gray. ... Alastair Reynolds (born in 1966 in Barry, South Wales) is a Welsh science fiction author. ... Pushing Ice is a 2005 science fiction novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds (ISBN 0575074388). ...

Rock Music

• On the cover of Australian band Frenzal Rhomb's album 'A Man Is Not A Camel' a version of the Vitruvian man is pictured but using a camel instead of a man
• on Todd Rundgren's album Initiation (album).
• Album art — in the BALANCE Van Halen disc surface.
• Album art — "Clayman" album cover by melodic death metal band In Flames.
• The album "MicClub Mixtape Master: Volume 1" by hip hop artist Canibus features a song called Vitruvian Canman.
• The hip-hop artist Canibus also released a mixtape in 2004 entitled "The Vitruvian Man", available here.
• The album art accomanying Enigma's second CD released in the US, The Cross of Changes.
• Power trio Triumph's Thunder Seven album cover art depicts the Vitruvian Man with three superimposed metallic figures.
• The Vitruvian Man is briefly featured in the music video for Modest Mouse's "Parting of the Sensory."
• Under the cd tray of Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar is a version of the Vitruvian Man but in a skeletal form.
• The Vitruvian Man is briefly featured in the music video for Linkin Park's "What I've Done"
• The Vitruvian Man is briefly featured in the music video for In Flames's "Pinball Map"

Relationship to Math This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948 in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, USA), is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. ... Initiation is an album by Todd Rundgren, released in 1975. ... Balance is the tenth studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1995. ... Van Halen is an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California in 1972. ... Clayman is a melodic death metal album by In Flames. ... Melodic death metal, (also referred to as Gothenburg metal, melodeath, and post-death) is a subgenre of death metal. ... First off, If you listen to In Flames you kick ass In Flames is a melodic death metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden founded in 1990. ... Germaine Williams (born December 9, 1974), better known as Canibus and also as Can-I-Bus and Rip the Jacker, is a Jamaican-born American MC and rapper. ... The Cross of Changes is a 1993 album by the musical project Enigma. ... The power trio is a rock and roll band format popularized in the 1960s. ... Triumph is a Canadian rock band that was popular in the late 1970s through the 1980s. ... Thunder Seven is the seventh studio album by Canadian rock band Triumph, released in 1984 (see 1984 in music). ... Example of book cover art. ... For alternative meanings see metal (disambiguation). ... Template:Lyricwiki Modest Mouse is an American indie rock band. ... This article is about the person. ... Antichrist Superstar (written Antichrist Svperstar in several places as an allusion to Latin) is Marilyn Mansons second full-length studio release and was released in 1996. ... Linkin Park is a rock band from Agoura Hills, California. ... What Ive Done is the lead single from Linkin Parks third album Minutes to Midnight, and is the bands highest debut on the US Hot 100. ... First off, If you listen to In Flames you kick ass In Flames is a melodic death metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden founded in 1990. ...

This drawing shows that math can be used to explain and describe everything around us, including ourselves. Making math a subject needed to understand nature and the world.

Video Games

• In the videogame Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future, the Vitruvian man with a dolphin's silhouette behind it can be seen on the temple windows in the level "Shrine of Controversy".

• In the video game X: Beyond the Frontier (and in its following sequels) the Vitruvian man is seen as the main decal on the Earth prototype ship the "X-perimental Shuttle". As a result it is also the default symbol/logo available to players to have represent their empire by appearing physically on all of the player's ships and stations.

• In the video game Far Cry, the Vitruvian Man is seen behind the cheats menu. This is symbolic as the game is centered around the evolution of man.

Screenshot of Ecco The Dolphin for the Sega Megadrive and Sega Genesis. ...

Other

In modern times, the Vitruvian man has been reinterpreted many times, among them:

• Le Corbusier (1948): The Modulor
• Andrew Leicester: Tin Man (a robotlike metal sculpture as tribute).
• Nat Krate: The Vitruvian Woman (careful reproduction of Leonardo’s drawing, but with a woman as subject)
• Jane Dedecker: Vitruvian Woman, a sculpture loosely based on the Vitruvian Man.

The Skylab 3 patch shows a Vitruvian Man, with a globe in rear.

• In Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen #4, the cover of a fictional report depicts Dr. Manhattan in the Vitruvian Man's position inscribed in his symbol (a hydrogen atom).
• In the logo of Enciclopedia Libre, a fork of the Spanish Wikipedia.
• The logo of the Knoppix linux distribution is similar to the Vitruvian Man, but with a penguin instead.^[7]
• The MMORPG City of Heroes has the Vitruvian Man as the symbol for a hero of the natural origin.
• In the rulebook for Inquisitor, a miniatures game by Games Workshop, there is a drawing of a man in the Vitruvian pose. Half of his body appears to be robotic.
• In the popular anti-spyware program Spybot - S&D, there is a hidden mini-game, found by clicking the small icon next to the header of each page, in which the object is to move as a knight would round every square of a chess board. As each square is hit, it reveals a small square of a picture behind it. The picture is the Vitruvian Man.
• The Vitruvian Man is the mascot of The Science Academy of South Texas.

Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, who chose to be known as Le Corbusier (October 6, 1887 – August 27, 1965), was a Swiss-born architect and writer, who is famous for his contributions to what now is called Modern Architecture. ... // The Modulor is a scale of proportions devised by the French architect Le Corbusier (1887–1965). ... Image File history File links Skylab2-Patch. ... Image File history File links Skylab2-Patch. ... Skylab 3 or SL-3 was the second manned mission to Skylab. ... For other persons named Alan Moore, see Alan Moore (disambiguation). ... Dave Gibbons (born April 14, 1949) is a British writer and artist of comics. ... For the 2009 film based on the comic book, see Watchmen (film). ... The Enciclopedia Libre Universal en Español is a Spanish language WikiWiki encyclopedia, released under the GFDL. It uses the MediaWiki software. ... Knoppix, also spelled as KNOPPIX, is a computer operating system which can be used as a live CD. It is a Debian based Linux distribution, developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. ... An image from World of Warcraft, one of the largest commercial MMORPGs as of 2004, based on active subscriptions. ... City of Heroes (CoH) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing computer game based on the superhero comic book genre, developed by Cryptic Studios and published by NCsoft. ... Inquisitor is a tabletop miniatures game based in Games Workshops Warhammer 40,000 Universe. ... For the defunct company, see Game Designers Workshop. ... Spybot - Search & Destroy 1. ... For other uses, see Chess (disambiguation). ... The Science Academy of South Texas, also known as SciTech, is a high school in Mercedes, Texas, United States. ...

See also

• Body proportions
• Skylab 3 mission patch, an edited variation of the Vitruvian Man

Vitruvian Man, by Leonardo da Vinci. ... Skylab 3 or SL-3 was the second manned mission to Skylab. ...

External links

• Gallerie dell'Accademia website
• Willamette University site on Vitruvian man
• Stanford University site on Vitruvian man
• The Vitruvian Man and the squaring of the circle
• An animation from the Victoria and Albert Museum, based on the Vitruvian Man
• An animation by Rob ten Berge, based on the Vitruvian Man