968

VITRUVIAN MAN VITRUVIUS, BOOK 3, CHAPTER 1, 25 BCE LEONARDO DA VINCI, NOTEBOOK 1, 1484-1500 CE

Vitruvius in his 10 books of architectural theory chooses to open Book 3 with a comparison of the design of Temples and the Human form. Within paragraphs 2 and 3 of Chapter 1, Vitruvius lists various dimensions for the human body and describes how the form can be encapsulated in both a square and a circle, which are two separate entities.
Leonardo Da Vinci cleverly incorporates the two entities as described by Vitruvius into one iconic diagram, Vitruvian Man.
Leonardo’s short text accompanying his diagram details the assumptions and lists the measures he has used. These differ from those of Vitruvius.
Both sets of diagrams require geometry to explain their raison d’être.

The text is 4 A4 pages and there are 5 diagrams, some of which are full colour.

August 2011
Read Paper  View Diagrams  Download Paper  Download Images 
974