Question

what do you think about Greek ideal proportions and/or Leonardo da Vinci's ideas as revealed by the Vitruvian Man?

Answer 1

The purpose of the illustration of Vitruvian Man is to bring together ideas about architecture, art, human anatomy and symmetry in one distinct image. The Vitruvian Man describes the proportions of the human body according to Vitruvius and it is a drawing made by Leonardo da Vinci in about 1490. In other words Vitruvian Man is Leonardo da Vinci's own reflection on human proportion and architecture, made clear through words and image. Leonardo da Vinci chose to depict the man with four legs and four arms, allowing him to strike 16 poses simultaneously. His ideas are focused on architecture by exploring the human body and the geometry of perfect” proportions. The measurements of ideal body is described as follows.

• four fingers equal one palm
• four palms equal one foot
• six palms make one cubit
• four cubits equal a man’s height
• four cubits equal one pace
• 24 palms equal one man