Da Vinci

By Emily,Amy and Flynn

Where did Da Vinci come from?

Da vinci was born in Italy (1452-1519) on April 15

1452.
Leonardo da Vinci wasn't just an incredible artist, he was an inventor, scientist,
mathematician, engineer, writer, musician and much more. Talk about talented!

Where did Da Vinci grow up?

Da Vinci grew up in Vinci,a small town or village in Florence, Tuscany.

How we use Da vinci's work?

Da vinci believed that mathematics was a tool of painting.
He believed that if you didn't study mathematics you shouldnt
read his books.

How do we see his work?

we can see Da Vincis work in museums and they
are guarded by security guards.

Vanishing Point

Flight was of particular interest to da Vinci. He studied the flight of birds and created plans for flying machines that resemble hang gliders and
helicopters.

The Vitruvian Man is a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci that describes the

relationship between human proportions and geometry.
The drawing captures "proportion" - how various dimensions of things relate to
each other mathematically. DaVinci helped us see how large the human head
is in relation to the entire body, how long the arms and legs are in proportion to
the trunk, and so on.

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/da-vinci-s-vitruvian-man-ofmath-james-earle

Thank you for listening to our

preston.

Making a Vitruvian Man

Geometry is based on shapes such as circles, squares and triangles, and how lines connect them all. The man in his
drawing is within both a circle and a square, and displays two basic postures. One figure has hands at about 10 o'clock and
2 o'clock if the circle were a clock face, and feet at approximately 7 o'clock and 5 o'clock. Using the same trunk, or
midsection of the body, the other figure has arms straight out, and legs straight down.
Using the measuring tape, take your shoes off, measure your height in inches, and then let's examine a few of the Vitruvian
principles:
1.

First, guess: how does your height compare to your "wingspan" - your arms stretched out as wide as possible?
Now measure.*

2.

Measure the distance from your hairline to the bottom of your chin. It should equal approximately 1/10th of your
height.

3.

Measure your hand from the tip of your longest finger to the line on your wrist. It should equal approximately
1/10th of your height, too.

4.

Measure your shoulders at their widest point. That should equal about one-fourth of your height.

5.

Measure the length of your foot, from your heel to the tip of your big toe. That should equal about one-sixth of
your height.

Now comes a fun part! You need at least one other student for this.
Assuming you are less than six feet tall, measure a six-foot length of banner paper and cut it. Now measure out two or
three more six-foot lengths, and tape them together to form a large square that's about six feet wide and six feet tall. You
may need to tape the corners down so the paper won't curl up.
With shoes off, one student should lay down on the paper and assume the position of the "Vitruvian Man" with arms
outspread and up at an angle, and legs outspread down below. We call this position "spread-eagled."
The student should hold the end of a piece of string. The other end should be tied to a large marker. Another student
should hold the marker at the edge of the paper while the "Vitruvian Man" student lays still. The student holding the marker
should stretch the string fairly taut and draw a circle around the student lying down. The string acts as a simple "compass" an instrument for drawing circles.
Once the circle is drawn, the other student should draw the outline of the "Vitruvian Man" student.
When finished, it should look like a life-size version of the real thing!