The Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci, made around 1490, is a famous pen-and-ink drawing held at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice. It represents the ideal proportions of the human body inscribed in a circle and a square, symbols of the divine and the earthly. Inspired by the texts of the Roman architect Vitruvius, the work embodies the Renaissance ideal of harmony and perfection between art, science and nature. Leonardo accompanies the drawing with notes explaining the proportions of the body in geometric terms, but goes beyond simply reproducing the classical model, reinterpreting it through direct observation and an empirical approach.
Regarded as a universal symbol of the balance between man and cosmos, the drawing unites aesthetics and scientific knowledge, summing up Leonardo’s humanist vision of the relationship between the human microcosm and the natural macrocosm.
Unique quality material
Print on handmade Amalfi paper Sheet size: 29 x 42 cm (11.4 x 16.5 in) With frame: 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in) Material: artwork printed on very fine handmade Amalfi paper with deckled edges Frame: light brown beech wood and wood pulp, handmade
How an Amalfi art print is made, what the frame is like, what museum glass is, how long shipping takes, and how returns work: we’ve gathered all the answers on a single page.
