REACTION PAPER ON VITRUVIAN MAN PAINTING

INTRODUCTION:
Leonardo drew the Vitruvian Man, known also as “The proportions of the human body
according to Vitruvius,” in 1492. Rendered in pen, ink, and metal point on paper, the piece
depicts an idealized nude male standing within a square and a circle. Ingeniously, Leonardo
chose to depict the man with four legs and four arms, allowing him to strike 16 poses
simultaneously. Inspired by the writings of Marcus Vitruvius Pollio - better known as Vitruvius -
a renowned Roman architect, Leonardo spent a great deal of time studying his books on
architecture which were some of the only teachings of their kind to exist during the Renaissance.

BODY:
First is balance and proportion. The human body displays balance and symmetry and
proportion. In Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, he is designing the perfect male body based
on the principles of balance, symmetry, and proportion written by the ancient Roman author and
engineer Vitruvius. In this study of the ideal man’s proportions in according with the circle and
square, the two shapes that Vitruvius believed to be the foundations of the universe. The circle
represents the heavenly world, infinite, and the universal. The square represents the earthly
world. The man’s belly button is the source of life and the centre of the body. The perfect
proportions of this man’s torso, limbs, and torso symbolize the unification and harmony of man
and physical world and immaterial world.

CONCLUSION:
Vitruvian Man is Leonardo da Vinci’s reflection on human proportion and architecture,
made clear through words and image. The purpose of the illustration is to bring together ideas
about art. By combining text and illustration, da Vinci evokes a meaning which could not be
created through words or image alone. Vitruvian Man’s importance lies in its clear reflection of
ideas of its time.