Vitruvian Man

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.

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

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 symbolised 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. 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:

• a palm is the width of four fingers
• a foot is the width of four palms
• 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:

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.

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.

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.

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). 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.

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.

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:

• 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.

Representations in modern times

Movies

• the movie Pi
• the movie Stranger than Fiction (film)
• 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.

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 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 an episode of Spongebob Squarepants, when Patrick gets smart, he's 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.

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.

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"

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.

Other

File:1e ita.png

Vitruvian Man on the Italian €1 coin

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.
• Leigh Masson: Adam?, a canvas depicting a modern reinterpretation, warning of the impact of technological advancement upon what we define as "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.
• 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.

See also

• Body proportions
• Skylab 3 mission patch, an edited variation of the Vitruvian Man
• [[1]]Animation Vitruvian Man--Rob ten Berge 23:55, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

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
• [2] Vitruvian man 2
• [3] BLACK laughingmuscle HOLES

The other "Inconvenient truth" = Reïncarnation... dk:Homo Vitruvianus --Rob ten Berge 23:48, 7 July 2007 (UTC)--