LEONARDO DA VINCI

At the beginning of the Renaissance with the rediscovery of De Architectura, Da Vinci drew The Vitruvian Man. His detailed drawing illustrated the proportions of the human body as described by Vitruvius in 30 BCE. In 1490 CE, after having studied the Golden Mean proportions with Luca Pacioli, who had written Divina Proportione, Da Vinci knew that the divisions and proportions as described by Vitruvius were not real proportions found in the human body or Nature. They were an abstract idea, creating an idealized proportion as a "standard". As an example, I have illustrated the Golden Mean proportions of the human body in relation to the sculpture of Athena Parthenaos representing its use in the sculptures of the Parthenon. (22)

I believe that Vitruvius’ description of human proportions, as understood by the ancients, symbolizes man’s oldest known and most profound understanding of the Human body and its golden mean proportional relationship to Nature and the Cosmos.

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Although Vitruvius did not specifically mention the Parthenon in De Architectura, I applied all of his principles for designing sacred temples and have proven their use throughout the design of the Parthenon.