Fig 5.10 – Vitruvian (Wo)Man
Text: Page 167
The Vitruvian Man (1485) by Leonardo De Vinci was another symbol of the rediscovery of classical Greek thought during the Renaissance. The invention of the polygraph by which the Vitruvian Man was drawn renewed interest in the function and beauty of the body. The proportions of the body were based on the work of the Roman architect Vitruvius, who believed that the perfect body would fit into a circle and a square. The pairing of circles and squares represented a Renaissance vision of a new humanistic approach toward heaven and earth, the spiritual and the material, and the feminine and the masculine energies. The circle is a universal symbol for wholeness and spirituality. The square is the symbol of the four seasons and the physical elements of the four directions of the world. “Psychological perfection” is the ability to integrate the spiritual and natural worlds.