Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles
available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Vitruvian Man
is a world-renowned drawing created by Leonardo da Vinci around the year
1487. It is accompanied by notes based on the work of the famed
architect, Vitruvius. The drawing, which is in pen and ink on paper,
depicts a male figure in two superimposed positions with his arms and
legs apart and simultaneously inscribed in a circle and square. The
drawing and text are sometimes called the Canon of Proportions or, less
often, Proportions of Man. It is stored in the Gallerie dell'Accademia
in Venice, Italy, and, like most works on paper, is displayed only
occasionally. The drawing is based on the correlations of ideal human
proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect
Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise De Architectura. Vitruvius
described the human figure as being the principal source of proportion
among the Classical orders of architecture. Other artists had attempted
to depict this concept, with less success. Leonardo's drawing is
traditionally named in honor of the architect.
