Vitruvian Man - da Vinci Cushion

Leonardo used both image and text to express the ideas and theories of Vitruvius, a first century Roman architect. In his treatise, Vitruvius discussed proper symmetry and proportion as related to the building of temples. The architect believed that the proportions and measurements of the human body, which was divinely created, were perfect and correct. He therefore proposed that a properly constructed temple should reflect and relate to the parts of the human body. He noted that a human body can be symmetrically inscribed within both a circle and a square; this idea influenced his architectural practice. Leonardo's illustration of the theory of Vitruvius is a pen ink drawing of a male figure whose outstretched limbs touch the circumference of a circle and the edges of a square. His navel falls in the exact centre of the circle. Hand-written text surrounds the drawing of the figure.