Vitruvian Man by Leonardo: "one of the most referenced and reproduced artistic images in the world today"

Vitruvian Man
Originally uploaded by AstroAlbert

The Vitruvian Man is a world-renowned drawing created by Leonardo da Vinci circa 1487, says Wikipedia.[1]

It is accompanied by notes based on the work of the Roman architect Vitruvius.

The drawing, which is in pen and ink on paper, depicts a 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, and, like most works on paper, is displayed only occasionally.

The drawing is based on the correlations of ideal human proportions with geometry described[4] by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise De Architectura. Vitruvius described the human figure as being the principal source of proportion among the Classical orders of architecture.

"The length of the outspread arms is equal to the height of a man," is one of the numerous proportions - written in mirror writing.

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. Vitruvius' statements may be interpreted as statements about average proportions.

Leonardo's drawing combines a careful reading of the ancient text with his own observation of actual human bodies.

The drawing itself is often used as an implied symbol of the essential symmetry of the human body, and by extension, of the universe as a whole.