Unlike those of his friends, Leonardo’s drawing is meticulously done. His lines are not sketchy and tentative. Instead, he dug hard with his stylus, carving the lines confidently into the page as if he was making an etching. He had planned this drawing very carefully and knew precisely what he was doing.
Before he began, he had determined exactly how the circle would rest on the base of the square but extend out higher and wider. Using a compass and a set square, he draw the circle and the square, then allowed the man’s feet to rest comfortably on them. As a result, per Vitruvius’ description, the man’s navel is in the precise center of the circle and his genitals are at the center of the square
In one of the notes below the drawing, Leonardo described additional aspects of the positioning; “If you open your legs enough that your head is lowered by one-fourteenth of your height and raise your hands enough that you extended fingers touch the line of the top of your head, know that the center of the extended limbs will be the naval, and the space between the legs will be an equilateral triangle.” ~ page 155
The stare of Virtuvian Man is an intense as someone looking in a mirror, perhaps literally. According to Toby Lester, who wrote a book about the drawing, “It’s an idealized self-portrait in which Leonardo, stripped down to his essence, takes his own measure, and in doing so embodies a timeless human hjope: that we just might have the power of mind to figure out how we fit into the grand scheme of things. Think of the picture as an act of speculation, a kind of metaphysical self-portrait in which Leonardo – as an artist, a natural philosopher, and a stand-in for all the humanity – peers at himself with furrowed brow and tries to grasp the secrets of his own nature.” ~ Page 157
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Dinesh said:
Before he began, he had determined exactly how the circle would rest on the base of the square but extend out higher and wider. Using a compass and a set square, he draw the circle and the square, then allowed the man’s feet to rest comfortably on them. As a result, per Vitruvius’ description, the man’s navel is in the precise center of the circle and his genitals are at the center of the square
In one of the notes below the drawing, Leonardo described additional aspects of the positioning; “If you open your legs enough that your head is lowered by one-fourteenth of your height and raise your hands enough that you extended fingers touch the line of the top of your head, know that the center of the extended limbs will be the naval, and the space between the legs will be an equilateral triangle.” ~ page 155
The stare of Virtuvian Man is an intense as someone looking in a mirror, perhaps literally. According to Toby Lester, who wrote a book about the drawing, “It’s an idealized self-portrait in which Leonardo, stripped down to his essence, takes his own measure, and in doing so embodies a timeless human hjope: that we just might have the power of mind to figure out how we fit into the grand scheme of things. Think of the picture as an act of speculation, a kind of metaphysical self-portrait in which Leonardo – as an artist, a natural philosopher, and a stand-in for all the humanity – peers at himself with furrowed brow and tries to grasp the secrets of his own nature.” ~ Page 157
Dinesh said:
J. Gafarot said:
Thank you very much, it makes me read fast "things" that could take days to colect.
Dinesh replied to J. Gafarot: