Homo Vitruvoanus

In this, one of the most recognised images in the world, Leonardo da Vinci explores the writings of Vitruvius on the symmetry and proportions of the human body. In the centre of the drawing a male figure stands in two positions overlapped: one with his feet together and arms out to his sides, the other with his feet apart and hands raised slightly to the height of his head. The boundary of the shapes formed by the body are demarcated within a square and a circle. Da Vinci was a well-read polymath, familiar with the written work of Vitruvius, an architect and scientist from the 1^st Century BC. Vitruvius’ writing on the human body is found in the third part of his work ‘De Architectura’ which is mostly centred around architectural theories and regulations. Vitruvius believed that the perfect specimen of man, when in these positions, would fit precisely within a square and a circle. Da Vinci shows that this hypothesis needs altering. The square and circle do not, as Vitruvius insists, share a central point, and the artist demonstrates this by using the groin as the centre of the square. The drawing has notes at the top and bottom, and a mathematical scale to demonstrate size, reiterating the scientific foundation behind da Vinci’s work.