The drawing by Leonardo da Vinci shows us a man in two different positions inscribed within a circle and square. Engraved onto brown paper in 1490, almost carved by Leonardo's own hand. He surrounded the drawing in notes from works of the architect Vitruvius. Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a great Roman architect specifically Caesar Augustus of Rome's architect . Augustus being the first emperor of Rome, founding the Roman Empire obviously thought greatly of Vitruvius's works as did Leonardo. Vituvius wrote a book around 15BC Titled, " De architectura" published as Ten Books Of Architecture.
The Ten Books Of Architecture were handed over to the emperor Caesar Augustus and used as a blue print for all building and structures around Rome. Within the books Vitruvius tells us that all buildings and structures should be based on the ideal proportions of the human body, for example. Vitruvius determined that the ideal proportion to the human body's height should be eight heads high, with the theory being shown in Leonardo's drawing. He descibed the human body as being the principle source for great achitecture. The drawing is also well known as " The Proportion Of Man".
These proportions are seen in Leonardo's notes in the drawings accompanying text, written in mirror writing. It was made as a study of the proportions of the male human body as described in Vitruvius works :
- a foot is the width of four palms or 12 inches
- a cubit is the width of six palms
- a pace is four cubits
- a man's height is four cubits or 24 palms
- the length of a man's outspread arms spam is equal to his height
- the distance from the hairline to the bottom of the chin is one-tenth of a man's height
- the distance from the top of the head to the bottom of the chin is one-eighth of a man's height
- the distance from the bottom of the neck to the hairline is one-sixth of a man's height
- the maximum width of the shoulders is a quarter of a man's height
- the distance from the middle of the chest to the top of the head is a quarter of a man's height
- the distance from the elbow to the tip of the hand is a quarter of a man's height
- the distance from the elbow to the armpit is one-eighth of a man's height
- the length of the hand is one-tenth of a man's height
- the distance from the bottom of the chin to the nose is one-third of the length of the head
- the distance from the hairline to the eyebrows is one-third of the length of the face
- the length of the ear is one-third of the length of the face
- the length of a man's foot is one-sixth of his height
The symmetrical principles of the human body is truly astonishing, Vitruvius understood this though and new that beautiful architecture could be created if the same symmetrical principles where incorporated into buildings and structures. Leonardo idolised Vitruvius's ideas and knowledge and thus the Vitruvian Man was born.
