'Vitruvian Man' by Leonardo da Vinci

This famous drawing was completed around 1490 as an illustration for a book on the works of the Roman architect Vitruvius. It is now in the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice. It asserts an essential symmetry between the human body and the universe, the microcosm and the macrocosm. In other words, for Leonardo it was about more than just architecture - it is an idea that finds increasing favor today.

As with other Leonardo drawings, is there more here than meets the eye? Is there in fact a Divine Ratio or Divine Proportion in art? Leonardo has long been associated with the Golden Ratio and the Fibonacci Sequence, which can be found in nature (shells, sunflower seeds, hurricanes, spiral galaxies, etc.

Compare this Vitruvian Man below by Leonardo's contemporary Cesare Cesariano for a 1521 edition of Vitruvius. Unlike in Leonardo's drawing, the proportions here are distorted to fit the circle/square.