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Lesson Plan Image

Vitruvian People

Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man" is one of world's most iconic images. Students will learn about da Vinci and the drawing and create a Vitruvian Man-inspired drawing about an admired character.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

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  • Compass
  • Ruler

Steps

  • Step 1

    Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was an Italian painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer. Introduce some lesser-known facts about this man; for example, he was left handed and often wrote backwards (from right to left), which often required looking at it in a mirror to decipher. Many thought he did this as a code to keep his ideas hidden, but in reality it was so that his hand wouldn't smudge over words he'd just written. Have students investigate his life and notable achievements, such as "The Mona Lisa," "The Last Supper," inventions of various hydraulic machines, design for a flying machine, etc.

  • Step 2

    Share an image of da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man" (c. 1490). The drawing was inspired by the works of the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius who lived in the 1st century BCE. It represents a mathematical interpretation of ideal body proportions. Vitruvius claimed that the navel is at the center of the human body, and if a compass is placed on the navel, a circle can be drawn perfectly around the body. He also noted that arm span and height have a nearly perfect correspondence and therefore could also be placed in a square.

  • Step 3

    Ask students to think of a notable person from history or an admirable character from a book to portray in a square within a circle. They can use a compass to make the circle and a ruler for the square. Encourage them to use black or brown hued pencils and cream-colored paper to create a historical feel. Ask them to write about the traits and accomplishments of this person on their drawing.

  • Step 4

    Have a class discussion about what makes these people or characters noteworthy.

Standards

LA: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and interest.

MATH: Analyze, compare, create, and compose math ideas using written, oral, and drawn lines, shapes, forms, and patterns.

Adaptations

Have students explore other math concepts in Leonardo da Vinci's art. For example, the "Last Supper" is a great example of a vanishing point and single point perspective. And many scholars believe that the "Mona Lisa" shows evidence of the golden ratio.

Have students explore the concept of the "golden ratio," a number that equals approximately 1.618 and lends proportion to a work. Ask them to look at several examples of works that demonstrate it, such as in "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp" (1632), "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa"(1831) by Katsushika Hokusai, and "Tableau 1" (1921) by Piet Mondrian.