Leonardo
Da Vinci’s
Vitruvian Man
The 'Vitruvian Man' is a famous
drawing with accompanying
notes by Leonardo da Vinci
made around the year 1492 in
one of his journals. It depicts a
naked 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
on display in the Gallerie dell'
Accademia in Venice, Italy.
According to Leonardo's notes in
the accompanying text (written
in mirror writing) it was made as
a study of the proportions of the
(male) human body as described
by the Ancient Roman architect
Vitruvius, who wrote that in the
human body:
“…the length of a man's
outspread arms is equal to
his height …”
Arm Span
Height
The Vitruvian theory contains a
total of 10 ratios between
different parts of the body.
Can you verify four of these
ratios using data collected from
your class?
Here is a reminder of the first:
Height is equal to arm
span
Arm Span
Height
2.
Length from the elbow
to the end of the hand is
equal to one quarter of
height
Elbow to
end of hand
Height
3.
Length of the hand is
one tenth of height
Hand
Height
4.
Length of the foot is one
seventh of height
Foot
Is the Vitruvian theory that
height is equal to arm span
true for British students
today?
Complete the following
tables by making the
appropriate measurements
of yourself and your
classmates.
Height is equal to arm span
Pupil
Gender
M or F
1
M
Height
Arm
Span
centimetres
165
162
Ratio
Height / Arm Span
Fraction *
Decimal
165/162
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Click in a cell to enter data
* Leave fraction un-simplified
Elbow to hand is equals one quarter of height
Pupil
Gender
M or F
Height
Elbow to
Hand
centimetres
Ratio
Height / Elbow to Hand
Fraction *
Decimal
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Click in a cell to enter data
* Leave fraction un-simplified
Length of the hand is one tenth of height
Pupil
Gender
M or F
Height
Hand
Length
centimetres
Ratio
Height / Hand
Fraction *
Decimal
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Click in a cell to enter data
* Leave fraction un-simplified
Length of the foot is one seventh of height
Pupil
Gender
M or F
Height
Foot
Length
centimetres
Ratio
Height / Foot
Fraction *
Decimal
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Click in a cell to enter data
* Leave fraction un-simplified
Some questions to think about…
What do you notice from the table of data?
Which pupils most closely fit Leonardo’s theory?
Not everybody has an arm span / height ratio equal to 1.
Why do you think this is?
Do you think the results would be the same for babies or
seniors?
Who might be interested in your conclusions?