Few know that the Vitruvian man, the famous work of Leonardo Da Vinci, yes, just the drawing of a man with his arms and legs open inside a circle and a square, is in Venice.
1 WHERE IS THE VITRUVIAN MAN HIDING?
It is kept in the Cabinet of Drawings and Engravings of the Accademia Gallery.
Normally it is not exposed for conservation reasons (the light erases the drawings), but it is shown on special occasions and of course, you have to take the opportunity to see the original of this universal figure, as well known as the Mona Lisa.
This work has been the property of the Venetian museum since 1822, when it was acquired by the Austrian government from the heirs of the Milanese collector Giuseppe Bossi. This sketch is believed to have been made around 1490 by Leonardo, after he had read the architectural treatise by Vitruvius, an architect of ancient Rome, from whom this drawing took its name.
2 WAS DA VINCI IN VENICE?
I have searched for an answer to my question, since it was not Leonardo who drew the Vitruvian Man while in Venice, but rather, as I have told you, the Austrians bought it in the 19th century, to provide the newborn Accademia museum with valuable pieces. Along with the drawing, among other things, they bought 25 other "Leonardian" sketches, including sketches of the Last Supper and the Battle of Anghiari.
But, yes, Leonardo arrived in Venice exactly in the year 1500 and he was not just passing through, because he stayed here for more than a year and influenced painters and got involved in projects for the Serenissima.
The sketch of the portrait of Isabella d'Este, it is said that was made in Venice, and also caricature drawings of grotesque faces. Indeed the great painter Giorgione was dazzled by Leonardo and his truly impressive portrait of Vecchia was influenced by Leonardo's grotesque faces.
3 LEONARDO'S MILITARY SERVICES TO THE REPUBLIC OF VENICE
When Leonardo arrived, the Serenissima was threatened by the Turks, so Venice was looking for new ideas to protect its conquests in the Mediterranean, including the possessions in present-day Italy, on the mainland.
Leonardo advised the Senate of Venice on projects to flood enemy camps through the use of mobile floodgates capable of accumulating water from the Isonzo River.
Finally, he also provided Venice with the sketches for the UNDERWATER and submarine army. Leonardo explained his "submarine inventions" to the doge, although at that time a submarine was a futuristic contraption, and surely incomprehensible
Also in Venice, he proposed a special suit to dive under water and stay there for a long time in order to easily sink enemy ships.
4 CURIOSITIES OF THE VITRUVIAN MAN
1. The hairy Vitruvian man, some maintain that it is a SELF-PORTRAIT of Leonardo.
2. Leonardo was obsessed with proportions and wrote “The painter must paint respecting the rules of a natural body, which must present exact proportions”. This drawing is a symbol of ideal human proportions: THE PERFECT BODY, symbolizes the centrality of man as a measure of all things in tune with heaven and earth, something revolutionary for the time
3. If you draw the diagonals of the square, the center is the genitals (physical origin representing the EARTH), while if you draw the diameters of the circle, the center is the navel (spiritual origin, HEAVEN or the universe).
4. It is not a only a man, but two superimposed, since the right eye is that of an older man, the left is that of a younger one.
5. There is a reason Da Vinci painted the human body so realistically at a time when medical knowledge in Europe was rudimentary: the artist obsessively studied human anatomy by dissecting cadavers for a long time.
5 LOOKING FOR LEONARDO DA VINCI IN VENICE
1. ACCADEMIA GALLERY
First of all, you will find Leonardo in the Galleries of the Accademia, if his works are exhibited at that time and through the work of Giorgione whom he greatly influenced. 2. CAMPO SAN GIOVANNI E PAOLO
We admire the equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni, the work of Andrea del Verrocchio, Leonardo da Vinci's master, although he was unable to finish it as he died in Venice.
The horse's head is almost identical to a drawing by Leonardo, which suggests that we could be looking at a sculpture devised by this genius.
3. SAN BARNABA'S CHURCH MUSEUM
In the museum you will find models of flight mechanisms, war, civil engineering, hydraulics and mechanics with finishing and use of materials of the time. Some machines are interactive and can be used while admiring the interior of the church.
4 MUSEUM IN CAMPO DI SAN ROCCO (SCOLETTA DI SAN ROCCO)
This museum pays tribute to his life, reproducing his universe of ingenious inventions and art.
Who would like to see the Vitruvian Man in Venice? Raise your 🖐🏻 in comments
6 LOCATE THE PLACES ON THE MAP
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