Name: ___________________________________________
Date: ____________________________________________
Vitruvius, a Roman engineer of the first century B.C., influenced Leonardo da Vinci's work in
architecture and also his drawing of the human figure. One of Leonardo's drawings is called the
Vitruvian Man. It is based on a model of ideal proportions which Vitruvius established.
The drawing shows a square inscribed inside a circle. There is a man with outstretched arms and
legs, in fact two pairs of each, which touch both the circumference of the circle and the vertices
of the square. Upon viewing the drawing the conclusion can be made that the length of a man's
arm span is equal to the height of the man. In other words the ratio of the Vitruvian Man's arm
span to his height equals 1.
Vitruvius wrote,
"...in the human body the central point is naturally the navel. For if a man be placed flat on his
back, with his hands and feet extended, and a pair of compasses centered at his navel, the fingers
and toes of his two hands and feet will touch the circumference of a circle described therefrom.
And just as the human body yields a circular outline, so too a square figure may be found from it.
For if we measure the distance from the soles of the feet to the top of the head, and them apply
that measure to the outstretched arms, the breadth will be found to be the same as the height ..."
Investigative Question:
Is the ratio of our arm span to our height really equal to 1?
HEIGHT
ARM SPAN
HEIGHT
------------------------ARM SPAN
Graph #1Use class data from columns one (height) and two (arm span) to create a graph of corresponding
height and arm spans using the grid provided.
Graph # 2Use class data from column three (height/arm span) to create a graph showing the ratio of height
to arm span using the grid provided.
Are your fractions/ratios similar to Vitruvius'?
If you have fractions/ratios that are not similar, why do you think your findings are different
from Vitruvius'?
If you have fractions/ratios that are similar, what does this tell us about human bodies now
compared to human bodies in the 1500's?
Write a conclusion to the investigative question: Is the ratio of our arm span to our height really
equal to 1? Justify your answer based on class data and the relationships between data points on
the graphs created.