LEONARDO DA VINCI 1452-1519

Leonardo da VINCI Vinci, 1452–Amboise, 1519 Vitruvian Man Metalpoint, pen and brown ink, brown wash on white prepared paper About 1489–1490 During the course of his research on the mathematical and geometrical principles that govern living beings, Leonardo studied the third book of the Roman architectu- ral theorist Vitruvius, in which the author describes how the human body could fit inside a circle and a square. Following after many others, Leonardo drew a version of the man Vitruvius had described in this famous passage. Unlike Vitruvius, he described the figure’s rela- tionship to the circle and the square, and went on to correct the architect’s abstract values in the light of his own anthropological findings. According to Vitruvius, the length of the foot was one sixth of the height of the body; for Leonardo, it was one seventh. Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice, inv.228 Leonardo da Vinci Vinci, 1452–Amboise, 1519 Zoology: Bear Metalpoint on pale pink prepared paper About 1482–1485 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NewYork, Lehman Collection, inv. 1975.1.369 102 103