The Secret Meaning Behind Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man
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By Leonardo Da Vinci is a Italian Renaissance artist most famous for pieces such as The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper and The Vitruvian Man- the later being the main focus of this article. What many do not know is that Da Vinci was not only an artist, but a writer, inventor, architect, engineer, mathematician, anatomist and many suspect he was also an alchemist (although this has been disputed). The depth of his achievement spans what most people would deem achievable in many lifetimes, but his work was also shrouded in mystery.
Da Vinci for the most part wrote backwards, which is pretty easy to decipher, however there could be an esoteric reasoning for this- seeing the world upside down and back to front is often spoken about as a way to understand this reality better.
The Vitruvian Man
The Vitruvian Man appears to be a singular image, however, it actually has 16 different poses. When you see it in this form it starts to resemble a multidimensional form and become holographic.
The most simplistic understanding of the image would be that of perfect proportion and in that form it is still a very interesting piece.
Text (written backwards) which accompanies Leonardo DaVinci’s Vitruvian Man
Vitruvius, the architect, says in his work on architecture that the measurements of the human body are distributed by Nature as follows that is that 4 fingers make 1 palm, and 4 palms make 1 foot, 6 palms make 1 cubit; 4 cubits make a man’s height. And 4 cubits make one pace and 24 palms make a man; and these measures he used in his buildings. If you open your legs so much as to decrease your height 1/14 and spread and raise your arms till your middle fingers touch the level of the top of your head you must know that the centre of the outspread limbs will be in the navel and the space between the legs will be an equilateral triangle.
The length of a man’s outspread arms is equal to his height.
From the roots of the hair to the bottom of the chin is the tenth of a man’s height; from the bottom of the chin to the top of his head is one eighth of his height; from the top of the breast to the top of his head will be one sixth of a man. From the top of the breast to the roots of the hair will be the seventh part of the whole man. From the nipples to the top of the head will be the fourth part of a man. The greatest width of the shoulders contains in itself the fourth part of the man. From the elbow to the tip of the hand will be the fifth part of a man; and from the elbow to the angle of the armpit will be the eighth part of the man. The whole hand will be the tenth part of the man; the beginning of the genitals marks the middle of the man. The foot is the seventh part of the man. From the sole of the foot to below the knee will be the fourth part of the man. From below the knee to the beginning of the genitals will be the fourth part of the man. The distance from the bottom of the chin to the nose and from the roots of the hair to the eyebrows is, in each case the same, and like the ear, a third of the face.
Hidden Meaning
The images tells us it is about proportion, but outside this obvious link the Vitruvian Man could have a very simplistic hidden meaning. The Square is masculine and the circle feminine- With the Vitruvian Man being the example of the perfect physical man, but the square and the circle being the spiritual representation of the perfect balance between masculinity and femininity. Also if you take all the numbers from the first sentence you get 49- which is 7 squared, a number which many believe represents absolute perfection.
Searching for more meaning to this image I found incredible image above which unifies the Tree of Life and the Chakra system. It also includes information related to our biology, Kundalini Yoga, Astrology, Alchemy and more.
This image sheds light on some of the potential hidden meaning behind the Vitruvian Man. The image is a projection of an esoteric understanding of the spirit body relayed on the Vitruvian Man. It is extensive and can be viewed in detail Here and purchased Here
IMAGE CREDIT miluxian / 123RF Stock Photo
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I am Luke Miller the author of this article, and creator of Potential For Change. I like to blend psychology and spirituality to help you create more happiness in your life.Grab a copy of my free 33 Page Illustrated eBook- Psychology Meets Spirituality- Secrets To A Supercharged Life You Control Here
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