Analysis: The Vitruvian Man

1079 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Leonardo da Vinci essay on his life

Kevin Souza
Professor Geri Donovan
ARTH 300
3 November, 2014
The Vitruvian Man The reason why I chose this drawing is that I tend to be a precise person. Since my major is computer science it is imperative that my code be flawless or else the code will not run or even compile. This relates to the Vitruvian Man in a way that the proportions of the man had to be precise or the circle would be an oval or the square a rectangle. The intricacy of the drawing intrigues me. The proportions in this drawing were not by the metric system, but used references to other body parts. Even though the Vitruvian Man is highly regarded today Toby Lester suggests that, “in Leonardo 's time and indeed for centuries afterward, the drawing remained almost entirely …show more content…

Leonardo Da Vinci was quite the virtuoso creating many various artworks through a variety of mediums. Leonardo was actually an illegitimate child, born between a noble and a peasant. After spending the first few years of his life away from his parents Leonardo’s father decided to take him under his wing. At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to one of the leading artists of the day, Verrocchio. Although he was mainly an artist, Leonardo also made military inventions that were ahead of his time. He had a blueprint drawn up very similar to scuba gear. Martin Kemp described it as, “The apparatus consists a float designed so that the breathing openings of the inlet and outlet tubes are protected from waves” (Leonardo Da Vinci 132). During his career, Da Vinci actually did not finish a lot of the projects he started. Many of these times he was even paid a fee in advance. During his professional life he spent most of his time in Milan. However, Leonardo did spend a decent amount of time in Florence. Many of Leonardo 's paintings actually had a hidden approach through his use of underdrawing. Skyes and …show more content…

I did not have to recruit anyone to do the picture due to the ability of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 to take pictures using a voice command. I needed two pictures in order to make the replica. The first picture I propped the camera up and used the front facing camera. I positioned myself far enough away so that I could fit my whole body with my arms outstretched into the picture. When I reached this position I lifted both of my hands straight out to both sides of my body while turning my left leg so that the inside of my foot would be shown. Upon closer inspection to the picture I saw that I had to put my thumbs in the middle of each hand and also slightly bend the index finger of my right hand. I then continued to my second picture which was a lot harder. Since the second picture would have to be a picture of my limbs being able to fit into the circle person of the artwork I had to take this picture at an angle. To do so I used an envelope holder to get a forty-five degree angle and laid a wooden board forty-five degrees down on the opposite side of the camera. This time I had to take multiple pictures in order to get the right arm angles. After this I proceeded to download Gimp in order to edit the pictures. Since the angles were not right for two of my limbs I had to cut those out and layer it behind my first picture in order to get a decent portrayal of the picture. After

Show More
Related

  • The Statue of Kouros

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Statue of a kouros represents a Greek male. With one foot forward, the statue at the same time, represents movement and is able to stand on it own. This also gives the over life size figure, visible weight. In this early figure, geometric forms seem to predominate, and anatomical details, such as the chest muscles and pelvic arch, are presented with somewhat of exaggerated lines. Although the exaggerated lines show where these muscles belong, the detail is still missing. Looking up and down this nude body, at this miss proportioned and lacking of detail body, the hair is what grabs my attention. The hair is carved with detail not noticeable in the rest of the body. As well, although the fists are clinched and still bonded to the body, the legs and elbows are separated. The ability to move around and inspect the statue makes a big difference than if it was up against a wall, or just looking at its picture. The legs, which support the weight of the statue, have a visible strength which is seen in the knees. The head is what carried the most detail, the ears although to far back, are intricately designed. It is the ability to walk around the entire statue that allows me to see the different aspects and places where attention to detail was placed. However, he does not expand into three dimensional space; he has a closed-off, column-like appearance

    Read More

  • Character Analysis: The Man Who Evolved

    597 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the short story “The Man Who Evolved” written by Edmond Hamilton, a mad scientist Pollard evolves to human forms under concentrated cosmic rays. The passage is centrally important to the story, as it hints the potential horror scientists may endure if they do not follow scientific procedures responsibly. In the passage, Hamilton compares the results of the scientific research. Through this comparison, he communicates the overarching idea that even though scientific research on evolution may bring some beneficial effect to human beings, its ultimate result should be carefully considered, as in the story the research creates a mind twisted monster that wants to own the entire world.

    Read More

  • Northwest Coast Tribal Art

    1375 Words  | 3 Pages

    The subject does not accurately depict the human anatomy. In fact, while studying this figure, one may notice that geometric shapes make up many of the limbs. For example, the artist uses ovals to represent the palm of the hands, the shoulders and the knees. The man's chest is in the form of squares with rounded edges and with perfect little white circles as nipples. This...

    Read More

  • Parabolas In Leonardo Da Vinci

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    Leonardo da Vinci was a famous painter, sculptor, and inventor that lived from 1452-1519. He was born in a small Italian town of Vinci and lived on a small estate that his father owned. Leonardo kept the name of the town that he was born in for his last name. Since his mother did not marry his father, he could not inherit his father’s land, nor did he have much going for him as a wealthy businessman. When people think of Leonardo da Vinci, they mostly associate him with art and paintings, such as his famous Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. Leonardo believed that art was correlated to science and nature. Da Vinci was largely self-educated and he filled endless notebooks with examinations and suppositions about pursuits from aeronautics to anatomy.

    Read More

  • Leonardo Da Vinci: The Renaissance Man

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of his creations was the flying machine. He loved the idea of people soaring like birds and wanted to make that dream a reality. The designs of the flying machine is clearly inspired by the wings of animals that could fly. Leonardo da Vinci’s flying machine has a wingspan of over 33 feet. The frame of the machine was made out of pine that was covered in silk. A sleek and light design that also proved to be sturdy. The way the machine worked is the pilot would lie face down on the board and he would have pedal a crank that was connected to a rod-and-pulley system. There was also a hand crank that was available. This was used for additional energy and the steering was done with a head piece. The pilot was to work the crank with both his hands and feet at the same time. Doing so would cause the wings to flap. A unique feature was the wings were designed to twist when they flapped. This design was an inspiration from nature. Besides his flying machine, he also conceived the idea for a parachute. Although credit for the first parachute doesn't formally go to Leonardo da Vinci he did create the design for it a couple hundred years before it was actually invented. He made a sketch of the idea but he never actually built and tested it for himself. Many of his inventions were never truly built and tested. Leonardo wasn’t only engrossed with the sky,

    Read More

  • How Death Has Been Depicted in Over Time

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    As far as the human body is on the real and the anatomical features it fails to give an Idea of the human body in depth but an idea nonetheless. The painting in general is very proportional and in a way the people are proportional as a whole to the center; Jesus Christ. The main body part that seems to alwa...

    Read More

  • Leonardo Da Vinci: The Smartest Man

    557 Words  | 2 Pages

    He was always being watched. He was left handed and he wrote his notes backwards because it was to encode them or it was more comfortable we will never know (lassieur 62). There have been numbers and letters found in The Mona Lisa’s eyes. Leonardo’s inventions were unusual. In his notes there was found a version of a bike that resembles the bikes of today (lassieur 83). His drawing of a tank is considered garbage because the gears are drawn so the tank wouldn’t move. Most say he did this on purpose because he knew the destruction that the tank would bring. He also drew multiple mechanisms for flight and ways to breath under water.. We will never understand why Da Vinci did the things he did but, they are very

    Read More

  • The Doryphoros

    346 Words  | 1 Pages

    This sculpture seems to epitomize the ideal male human form. All of the body parts seem perfectly proportioned and the muscles are beautifully defined as if the image were of an athlete. The image is youthful with a calm demeanor. The right missing forearm looks as if it used to be resting at his side, while the left elbow was probably at a 90 degree angle, with the hand holding something. The slight bend in the left leg gives the impression of movement, as if the image was frozen while walking. The counterpoised stance adds an air of nobility to the "man".

    Read More

  • Leonardo Da Vinci: The Renaissance Man

    796 Words  | 2 Pages

    Leonardo was born April 15, 1452 he was the son of Ser Piero and Caterina. Leonardo's father was a landlord, and his mother was a peasant and they both were not married at the time. Leonardo lived with his father and had an education. Later on his father moved the family to Florence( Heydenreich). At the age of 15 Leonardo was showing that he was a great painter. In 1467 he became an apprentist to Andrea Del Verrochio a very well known artist during that time period. He became a member of Verrochio's workshop where he received an education in a huge variety of areas.(Giorgio). In another workshop of Antonio Pollaiuolo, Leonardo studied anatomy, and animals. He was accepted into painters guild in Florence. An early work by Leonardo was an angel painting for the Baptism of Christ artwork.After Verrochio viewed the artwork he thought it was time for Leonardo to move on and do other things. Later on Leonardo became an independent painer and later moved to Milan where he worked for Ludovico Sforza. During that time Leonardo created one of his most famous artworks The Last Supper. Later on his career he became a journalist in which he would write down his obeservations , and findings. His notes showed that he knew about how rocks were formed.He was also fascinated with fossils and how to make tunnels through mountains.(Weingardt ).Years ...

    Read More

  • Lamentation and the Evolution of Technique

    920 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...so much that his feet needed to be shrunken in order for the viewer to fully see the body. All of the other details are also severely accentuated, from the drapery that shows an anatomically correct figure to the strikingly realistic stigmata. The emotional quality of this painting is uncontested, and the details that set it apart from other Lamentations are only side notes to the amazing perspective that Mantegna was able to produce.

    Read More

  • The Renaissance Man, Leonardo da Vinci

    679 Words  | 2 Pages

    Most people do not realize that a parachute and the Mona Lisa have one common factor—Leonardo da Vinci. His techniques of self-teaching are very impressive and unique from anyone else’s during the Renaissance era. This Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci, generously impacted the art and science world by creating new-world inventions, perfecting newly found art techniques, and creating the most famous pieces of art in history.

    Read More

  • The Renaissance Was a Revolutionary Period

    2557 Words  | 6 Pages

    A successful civilization is portrayed though art; it is a luxurious pastime that shows wealth and time. During the Renaissance, the production of art was long-standing. New techniques and characteristics emerged as well as masterpieces that were made by some of the most influential artists in history. During the Gothic and Romanesque periods, the techniques used for art were not as realistic as the Renaissance; they were flat, one-dimensional, and unproportional. During the Renaissance however, the concept of proportion, perspective, chiaroscuro and sfumato was formed. Proportion is the technique of having a greater understanding of portraying objects or people accurately. Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman author, architect, mathematician and doctor who described the ideal proportions of a human during his time. He set out certain measurements and values of the human body, for example the pa...

    Read More

  • Michelangelo's Motivation

    1901 Words  | 4 Pages

    The masculine and idealized form of the human body is an ever-present characteristic of Michelangelo’s sculpture. Many people over the years have speculated why this may be, but there has never been a definitive answer, and probably never will be. Through all of his sculpture there is a distinct classical influence, with both his subject matter and his inclination to artistically create something beautiful. In most cases, for Michelangelo, this means the idealized human figure, seeping with contraposto. This revival of classical influences is common for a Renaissance artisan, but the new, exaggerated form of the human body is new and unique to Michelangelo’s artistic style.

    Read More

  • Leonardo Da Vinci Contributions To Mathematics

    1527 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is said that the academics of Leonardo’s time did not take into consideration his work in any other field than painting, because he did not have a formal education. Instead he had developed an important attitude at a young age towards his critics, where he wrote “I cannot quote from eminent authors as they can, these trumpeters and reciters of the works of others. I know that all knowledge is vain and full of error when it is not born of experience, and so experience will be my mistress”. Leonardo da Vinci was a mysterious man who most definitely left his impact on the world, his time and modern time. A lot of people say Leonardo was a genius others say he was a complete mastermind who was ahead of his time, one thing for sure is that he was very talented.

    Read More

  • An Essay About Leonardo Da Vinci

    870 Words  | 2 Pages

    Leonardo da Vinci is one of the most well-known geniuses in human history. This man masters knowledge of all kind: painting, architecture, music, geology, philosophy, biology, math, physics, chemistry, etc. His probably most famous painting, Mona Lisa, fascinated millions of people around the world and the amazing and mysterious details in the painting attracted a number of scientists and scholars to devote their whole career in studying them. Born and lived in Italian Renaissance age, which is a period of time when arts flourished and knowledge was valued, Leonardo was surrounded by many great contemporary artists and a perfect creative environment. These favorable factors supported him to fully exercise his talents.

    Read More

More about Analysis: The Vitruvian Man

Open Document