The Vitruvian Man (Italian: L'uomo vitruviano; [ˈlwɔːmo vitruˈvjaːno]) is a drawing by the Italian Renaissance artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci, dated to c. 1490. Inspired by the writings of the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius, the drawing depicts a nude man in two superimposed positions with his arms and legs apart and inscribed in both a circle and square. It was described by the art historian Carmen C. Bambach as "justly ranked among the all-time iconic images of Western civilization".[1] Although not the only known drawing of a man inspired by the writings of Vitruvius, the work is a unique synthesis of artistic and scientific ideals and often considered an archetypal representation of the High Renaissance.
The drawing represents Leonardo's conception of ideal body proportions, originally derived from Vitruvius but influenced by his own measurements, the drawings of his contemporaries, and the De pictura treatise by Leon Battista Alberti. Leonardo produced the Vitruvian Man in Milan and the work was probably passed to his student Francesco Melzi. It later came into the possession of Venanzio de Pagave, who convinced the engraver Carlo Giuseppe Gerli to include it in a book of Leonardo's drawings, which widely disseminated the previously little-known image. It was later owned by Giuseppe Bossi, who wrote early scholarship on it, and eventually sold to the Gallerie dell'Accademia of Venice in 1822, where it has remained since. Due to its sensitivity to light, the drawing rarely goes on public display, but it was borrowed by the Louvre in 2019 for their exhibition marking the 500th anniversary of Leonardo's death.
The drawing is described by Leonardo's notes as Le proporzioni del corpo umano secondo Vitruvio,[2] variously translated as The Proportions of the Human Figure after Vitruvius,[3] or Proportional Study of a Man in the Manner of Vitruvius.[4] It is much better known as the Vitruvian Man.[2] The art historian Carlo Pedretti lists it as Homo Vitruvius, study of proportions with the human figure inscribed in a circle and a square, and later as simply Homo Vitruvius.[5]
The drawing was executed primarily with pen and light-brown ink, while there are traces of brown wash (watercolor).[6][n 1] The paper measures 34.4 cm × 25.5 cm (13.5 in × 10.0 in), larger than most of Leonardo's folio manuscript sheets,[n 2] while the paper itself was originally made somewhat unevenly, given its irregular edges.[1] Close examination of the drawing reveals that it was meticulously prepared, and is devoid of "sketchy and tentative" lines.[8] Leonardo used metalpoint with a calipers and compass to make precise lines, and small tick marks were used for measurements.[6][8] These compass marks demonstrate an inner structure of "measured intervals" which is displayed in tandem with the general structure created by the geometric figures.[9]
The Vitruvian Man depicts a nude man facing forward and surrounded by a square, while superimposed on a circle.[2] The man is portrayed in different stances simultaneously: His arms are stretched above his shoulders and then perpendicular to them, while his legs are together and also spread out along the circle's base.[2] The scholar Carlo Vecce notes that this approach displays multiple phases of movement at once, akin to a photograph.[10] The man's fingers and toes are arranged carefully as to not breach the surrounding shapes.[9] Commentators often note that Leonardo went out of his way to create an artistic depiction of the man, rather than a simple portrayal.[11][12] According to the biographer Walter Isaacson, the use of delicate lines, an intimate stare, and intricate hair curls, "weaves together the human and the divine".[11] Pedretti notes close similarities between the man and the angel of Leonardo's earlier Annunciation painting.[12]