Gallerie dell’Accademia Venezia

The Vitruvian Man drawing from Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks is housed in the Galleria dell’Accademia in Venice, Italy. It is only occasionally revealed to the public, as “prolonged exposure to light would cause it to fade,” (Isaacson 153). Most recently, it was on display at the Louvre in Paris, France. 

The Gallery houses many Venetian paintings from up to its founding in the mid-1700s. Among the works are those by Giovanni Bellini, Gigiorgone, Tintoretto, Titian, and Paolo Veronese. Most of the artwork represents Renaissance artistic ideals such as depth, perspective, focus of the human form, and realism. 

Paintings housed there that we have observed in class include Madonna and Child with Saint Catherine and Saint Mary Magdalene by Giovanni Bellini and The Tempest by Giorgone. 

Sources: 

“The Gallerie Dell'Accademia: the Great Masters of Venetian Art.” Venezia Da Vivere, 30 July 2018, www.veneziadavivere.com/en/gallerie-accademia-art-venice/.

Isaacson, Walter. “Chapter 8 Vitruvian Man.” Leonardo Da Vinci: The Biography, Simon & Schuster, 2018.

Parent Map

da Vinci and the Renaissance 2020 Map

Coordinates

Latitude: 45.431078400000
Longitude: 12.328139400000

Timeline of Events Associated with Gallerie dell’Accademia Venezia

Date Event Manage

Vitruvian Man Drawing and Notes
circa. 1487

Leonardo da Vinci Draws the Vitruvian Man

The Vitruvian Man embodies the Renaissance ideals of geometry, architecture, humanism, etc and Leonardo da Vinci’s nature as a polymath. It has been observed that da Vinci detailed his drawing to an unnecessary extent for solely displaying scientific information. It can be assumed then, that da Vinci wishes to comment on the beauty of the human body as well as its perfection in geometric form. Some have also observed that there is an illusory effect that the figure in the drawing is in motion, as da Vinci portrays “one leg and then the other being pushed out and pulled back, the arms flapping as if in flight, (Isaacson 156). 

da Vinci’s choice to detail the human form and the human form only as well as incorporate illusions of movement in two-dimensional drawings shows the shifting paradigm from medieval ideals to Renaissance ideals.

The Vitruvian Man drawing has symbolized the Renaissance trait of contemplating the human role in the grand scheme of things. The drawing itself seeks to describe “the relationship between the microcosm of man and the macrocosm of the earth,” (Isaacson 149). Renaissance thought extends that idea to include that which is not the earth, whether in extraterrestrial observations through astronomy or contemplation of the divine.

Sources:

Murtinho, Vitor. “Leonardo’s Vitruvian Man Drawing: A New Interpretation Looking at Leonardo’s Geometric Constructions.” Nexus Network Journal, vol. 17, no. 2, Sept. 2015, pp. 507–524.
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00004-015-0247-7.pdf 

Isaacson, Walter. “Chapter 8 Vitruvian Man.” Leonardo Da Vinci: The Biography, Simon & Schuster, 2018.