Da Vinci’s ‘Vitruvian Man’: Art of inspiration and proportion

‘The Vitruvian Man’ is a late 15th-century piece of art and a mathematical diagram that tries to convey the idea that “everything connects to everything else”— a quote by Da Vinci himself.

Hyderabad: While the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci is, perhaps, most well-known for his mysterious ‘Mona Lisa’ masterpiece, the polymath’s most significant work, ‘The Vitruvian Man’, impressively illustrates his eclectic blend of art, science and everything in between.

‘The Vitruvian Man’ is a late 15th-century piece of art and a mathematical diagram that tries to convey the idea that “everything connects to everything else”— a quote by Da Vinci himself.

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Made in 1490, the drawing intended to define the ideal proportions of the human body. It depicts a human figure inscribed within the two shapes of the circle and square, with four legs and four arms being perfectly balanced and aligned. From this framework, Da Vinci managed to strike 16 hypotheses.

The origin of the idea of the painting was said to be inspired by ‘De Architectura’, a building guide written by Roman architect and engineer Marcus Vitruvius Polio, who lived in the 1st century BC. Written around 30 BC, the short treatise not only focuses on architecture, but explores the geometry and perfect proportions of the human body.

According to ‘Vitruvius’ notes, the principles governing the representation of the human form also applied to architecture in terms of weight, symmetry and proportion. He provides numerous observations about the proportions of the human body in ‘De Architectura’.

‘Vitruvius’ established the fundamental principles of Roman architecture by discussing classical orders, architect education, materials, war machines, urban planning, and, most importantly, proportion. He theorised that the ancient builders who established classical architecture principles based them on human body proportions.

‘Vitruvius proportions’ served as the foundation and inspiration for Renaissance architecture, which revived the classical style, and thus for Neoclassical architecture, which has dominated and spread throughout the world ever since.

According to historians, though ‘The Vitruvian Man’ is largely based on ‘De Architectura’, Da Vinci has relied on his own experience and experiments, as per his creed and fewer than half of the 22 measurements that Leonardo cited are the ones Vitruvius handed down.

Since 1822, ‘The Vitruvian Man’ has been a part of the permanent collection of the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, Italy. To this day, this drawing is considered one of the most important in the world, and ultimately, one of the most important works of the Italian Renaissance.