Vitruvian Man
The Vitruvian Man is a pen-and-ink drawing with wash over metalpoint on paper, created by the Italian Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci around 1490, measuring approximately 34.4 by 25.5 centimeters and depicting a nude male figure in two superimposed positions—one with arms and legs spread to touch the edges of a circle, the other adjusted to align with a square—symbolizing the harmonious proportions of the human body as a microcosm of the universe.[1] Leonardo produced the work during his time in Milan, likely as part of his extensive notebooks exploring anatomy, geometry, and architecture, drawing direct inspiration from the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius Pollio's treatise De architectura (c. 30–15 BCE), particularly Book III, which outlines ideal human proportions such as the height equaling four cubits or the face being one-tenth of the body length, though Leonardo adapted these with his own observations to center the figure's navel as the universal midpoint for both positions.[1][2] Accompanying the illustration are Leonardo's mirrored notes in Italian, including the observation: "If you open the legs so as to reduce the stature by one-fourteenth and open and raise your arms so that your middle fingers touch the line through the top of the head, know that the centre of the extremities of the outspread limbs will be the umbilicus, and the space between the legs will make an equilateral triangle."[2] Housed in the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice since 1823, the fragile drawing is rarely exhibited due to its sensitivity to light and environmental factors, with public viewings limited to special occasions, such as a 2019 loan to the Louvre or the 2025 exhibition 'Corpi moderni: The Making of the Body in Renaissance Venice' at the Gallerie dell'Accademia.[3][4] The Vitruvian Man embodies core Renaissance ideals of humanism, blending art, science, and classical revival to illustrate the mathematical harmony between the human form, divine geometry (the circle representing the heavens), and earthly structure (the square evoking foundations), influencing subsequent explorations in proportion by artists like Albrecht Dürer and architects like Andrea Palladio.[1][3]Description
Visual Elements
The Vitruvian Man is a pen-and-ink drawing depicting two superimposed views of a nude male figure, illustrating ideal human anatomy through dynamic poses. In one position, the figure stands with arms outstretched horizontally and legs closed together, with the hands and feet contacting the edges of an enclosing square. In the superimposed second position, the arms are raised while the legs are spread apart, aligning the extremities to touch the circumference of an encircling circle.[5][1] These geometric forms—a circle symbolizing the heavens and a square representing the earth—are precisely drawn with thin lines, sharing the figure's navel as their common center point. This central navel underscores the harmony between human form and universal structure, positioning the body as a microcosm within the macrocosm of cosmic order.[5][1] Executed on paper measuring 34.4 × 25.5 cm, the work employs metalpoint underdrawing overlaid with brown ink lines and subtle watercolor washes. Shading is applied selectively, particularly to the face with cross-hatching to model cheek contours and eye sockets for a sense of three-dimensionality, while the body remains largely outlined without extensive tonal variation. This technique highlights anatomical details and the proportional balance, visually embodying Vitruvian ideals of human symmetry in architecture and nature.[1][6][7]Inscriptions
The inscriptions accompanying Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man are penned in his distinctive mirror-image script, a left-handed writing style executed from right to left, which renders the text readable only when viewed in a mirror; this feature appears on both the upper and lower portions of the sheet, with the upper text curving to follow the outline of the enclosing circle and the lower text arranged in straight lines.[8] The script employs Tuscan Italian vernacular typical of late 15th-century Florence, incorporating abbreviations and precise anatomical terminology to convey mathematical proportions, reflecting Leonardo's integration of linguistic clarity with scientific notation. The content primarily quotes and elaborates on passages from Vitruvius's De architectura (Book III, Chapter 1), adapting the Roman architect's canonical human proportions for architectural harmony into a direct study of the male body; Leonardo introduces expansions based on empirical observation, such as instructions for assuming the drawing's superimposed poses to verify geometric centers. Key measurements enumerated include the overall height equaling the arm span, the face comprising one-tenth of the height, the hand one-tenth, the foot one-seventh, the shoulders one-fourth in width, and the genitals marking the midpoint of the body, among others that fractionally divide the figure to emphasize symmetry and modularity. Leonardo incorporated corrections and annotations during composition, evident in insertions like the expansion of "op[er]a" to "opera" in the opening reference to Vitruvius's work, and deviations from the source text, such as altering the foot's proportion from Vitruvius's one-sixth to one-seventh of the height based on his anatomical studies; these additions underscore his critical engagement, blending quotation with personal refinement to align ancient theory with Renaissance humanism.[8][5] A full transcription of the original Italian text, as preserved in Leonardo's notebooks and compiled in scholarly editions, reads as follows (divided by position on the sheet for clarity): Upper inscription:Vitruvio, architetto, nel suo libro di architettura dice che le misure del corpo humano sono distribuite da natura così: 4 dita fanno un palmo, e 4 palmi fanno un pie, 6 palmi fanno un cubito: 4 cubiti fan l'altezza d'un huomo: e 4 cubiti fan un passo: e 24 palmi fan l'huomo: e queste sono le misure che e' à usate ne' suoi edi[ii]ci. Se t'apri tanto le gambe quanto ti bisogna per accorciar della tua altezza la 14 parte, e spieghi e leua le braccia in croce in modo che le medie dita delle mani t'allineghino colla sommità della testa, sappi che 'l polo delle estremità de' tui membri distesi sarà nel ombelico, e che lo spatio che è tra le gambe sarà triangulo equilatero.[8] Lower inscription:
La lunghezza de le braccia aperte sarà pari all'altezza de un huomo. Dal sommo del petto alla sommità del capo sia la sesta parte d'uno huomo. Dal sommo del petto alle radice de'capegli sia la 7 parte dell'huomo. L'ampiezza delle spalle sia la quarta parte d'uno huomo. Dal gomito alla punta de la mano sia la quinta parte d'uno huomo. E dal gomito all'ascella sia l'ottava parte d'uno huomo. Tutta la mano sia la decima parte d'uno huomo. Dal principio de'genitali sia il mezo dell'huomo. Il piè sia la 7 parte d'uno huomo. Dal piè sotto al ginochio sia la quarta parte d'uno huomo. Dal sotto del ginochio al principio de'genitali sia la quarta parte d'uno huomo. La distantia dal fondo del mento al naso, e dal principio de'capegli alle sopraciglia sia uguale all'orecchio, e sia la terza parte del volto.[8] The English translation, as rendered in Jean Paul Richter's 1888 compilation of Leonardo's notebooks, provides: Upper inscription:
Vitruvius, the architect, says in his work on architecture that the measurements of the human body are distributed by Nature as follows: that 4 fingers make 1 palm, and 4 palms make 1 foot, 6 palms make 1 cubit; 4 cubits make a man's height. And 4 cubits make one pace, and 24 palms make a man; and these are the measures he used in his buildings. If you open your legs so much as to decrease your height a 14th part and spread and raise your arms until your middle fingers touch the level of the top of your head you should know that the centre of the extremities of the outstretched limbs will be at the navel, and the space between the legs will be an equilateral triangle. Lower inscription:
The length of the arms when outstretched is equal to the height of a man. From the top of the breast to the summit of the head will be the sixth part of the man. From the top of the breast to the roots of the hair will be the seventh part of a man. The breadth of the shoulders will be the fourth part of a man. From the elbow to the tip of the hand will be the fifth part of a man. And from the elbow to the armpit will be the eighth part of a man. The whole hand will be the tenth part of a man. From the point of the genitals to the ground will be the middle of the man. The foot will be the seventh part of a man. From the sole of the foot to below the knee will be the fourth part of a man. From below the knee to the point of the genitals will be the fourth part of a man. The distance from the bottom of the chin to the nose and from the roots of the hair to the eyebrows is equal to the ear and a third of the face.