Renaissance Blog - Vitruvian Man

 

Leonardo da Vinci, Vitruvian Man 1487-90 Accademia, Venice. 

The Vitruvian Man was drawn by Leonardo da Vinci during the Italian Renaissance in 1490.  The Vitruvian Man is an iconic piece of art recognizable to most people. It was drawn with pen and watercolor, based on literature written by an architect/engineer named Vitruvius. Vitruvius wrote about how a man who has their arms and legs stretched out (like a starfish), should be able to fit into a square and a circle with their bellybutton always at the center. This was the believed proportions of man. As the Renaissance began, numerous artists started to study the human body and its proportions using this prior knowledge, but no one paid attention to the details and proportions like Vinci did. Here is an example of an attempt at drawing a man’s proportions using Vitruvius literature.

Cesare Cesariano, Vitruvian Man, Woodcut, 1521.

Notice that the feet are elongated to make the model fit Vitruvius’ description and measurements. That’s because these proportions are incorrect, and Vinci’s Vitruvian Man drawing illustrates this. The man’s feet and hands fit in the circle, but not in the box. The study of the human form became more relevant as the Renaissance continued. 

The Italian Renaissance soon started the movement known as the Humanism Renaissance. This movement inspired people to think less about religion and more about what it is like being human. Education and classical literature knowledge became more important to the people, and we see this in the Vitruvian Man Vinci drew. He gained knowledge by reading and seeing previous interpretations of the Vitruvian Man, but he also took the time to think about what it looks like to be human. He realized a human wouldn’t be able to fit within the box and the circle perfectly at every angle because that is not human anatomy. He drew a piece of art that displays the human form, at the correct measurements and proportions. 

When looking at this piece of art, I see beauty in the human body. I don’t know if I would display this piece in my home per se due to nudity being a bit taboo in our current culture, but I love something that makes me stop and think about how beautiful life is.

  

Bibliography

Cartwright, Mark. “Renaissance Humanism.” World History Encyclopedia, 4 November, 2020, https://www.worldhistory.org/Renaissance_Humanism/

 

Finnan, Vincent. “The Vitruvian Man. Leonardo da Vinci's study of the human form.” Italian Renaissance Art, https://www.italian-renaissance-art.com/Vitruvian-Man.html