Vitruvian Man

A drawing by Leonardo da Vinci depicts a nude man in two superimposed positions within a circle and square. It connects human proportions described by Vitruvius with geometry.

Vitruvius: A Roman architect and author of De architectura, a treatise on architecture, engineering, and proportion. His account of bodily proportions supplied the drawing's textual basis.
De architectura: A ten-book treatise on architecture written by the Roman architect Vitruvius. Leonardo's notes cite this work's description of the body's proportions.
Humanism: An intellectual movement that emphasized classical learning and human capacities. The image's synthesis of ancient authority and bodily inquiry suited humanist interests.
Microcosm and macrocosm: The idea that a small-scale system mirrors the structure of a larger one. The figure can be read as placing the human body in correspondence with cosmic geometry.
Human proportions: The measurements and ratios among parts of the human body. The drawing visualizes proportional relations attributed to the ideal human body.
Renaissance: A period of cultural and intellectual change in Europe, conventionally dated from the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries. The drawing reflects Renaissance efforts to unite classical learning, art, and natural inquiry.
Anatomical drawing: A visual representation of bodily structures made to describe or investigate anatomy. Leonardo's proportional study belongs to his wider use of drawing to examine the body.
Anthropocentrism: The view that human beings occupy a central or privileged position in interpreting the world. The image's central body has often been treated as a measure of universal order.
Circle: A plane figure whose points are equidistant from a center. The outstretched limbs fit a circular boundary in Leonardo's construction.
Leonardo da Vinci: An Italian artist, engineer, and investigator active during the Renaissance. He made the drawing and annotated it with observations on Vitruvius.

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