Vitruvian Man
The Body and the Universe
Leonardo based his drawing on the writings of the ancient Roman architect, Vitruvius, who in his treatise Da Architectura, created exact measurements for engineering based on the "idealized" human form (a consistent measurement based on one person's size which becomes the ideal and permanent measurement of one foot, arm's length, an inch, etc.). In this drawing, Leonardo expands upon the ancient idea that the human body and the universe are a mirror reflection of each other, ie. Man is the Universe, the Universe is Man.
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