THE ADVENT OF THE NEW MAN
DECODING LEONARDO DA VINCI'S VITRUVIAN MAN
by M.M.

 link alla versione italiana

 

 

I – OBJECTIVES AND CONTENTS OF THE STUDY

 

Our study begins with a thought: why is it that today Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man is without doubt one of the most widely recognizable and reproduced works of art in the world? What is the secret of its worldwide fame? It is an anatomical depiction of a perfect human body, or rather of one with balanced proportions, constructed through the geometry of the circle and the square, within which the man is inscribed.  The resulting image, which remains impressed on the memory of the observer, is that of a man in whom virtue and dignity are combined. This is the explanation which is commonly given: the work is famous because it is the drawing which dictates the standard of dignified beauty of an evolved human being. But it is more than this, the simplicity of this drawing is such as to have become today a symbol of the desired human perfection in the equilibrium between body and soul. The perfection of the Man lies, therefore, in the balanced synthesis between two planes, Reason and Spirit, and between microcosm – the body – and macrocosm – the universe. However, the artist does not give a tangible representation of the latter, if not in the geometrical form of the circle. From other sources and artists who worked on the same theme of the nude Man inscribed in a circle we know that the macrocosm is often represented as cosmic or natural forces acting on the Man, forging his physical constitution, endowing him with magical proportions that mirror supernatural qualities, as an universal clock that measures the time of biological development (link).

We sense, however, that this interpretation is not enough to explain the fame of this apparently simple drawing. We believe that the artist prophesised the coming of the anonymous model in ink he himself had drawn. Our study decoding the work will in fact  reveal that da Vinci’s sketch conceals the space-time coordinates of the event he prophesised. In order to decipher the prophetic message which Leonardo left to his descendents though his drawing it is necessary to reinterpret the work, analysing its contents with both Reason and Spirit. What is needed, then, is a rereading from the rational point of view and an integration of the spiritual side of the Vitruvian Man, according to the indications which the artist himself provides in the presence of the two forms, the Square and the Circle. These two forms, which superimposed on each other give in Leonardo’s case the representation of a perfect man, in our case will provide the identity of person who really exists, who we will call “New Man".

In brief, our intention is to demonstrate with documented proof that the Vitruvian Man provides indications as to where and when a perfect Man would have been born who was in unison with the Universe, to explain how his physical appearance and the position of the body correspond with space-time coordinates, and to describe the operations we have performed to decode the work.

The 4 operations of decoding will lead to the discovery of the identity of the New man, through the correction of the Vitruvian Man, its decomposition into the planes of Spirit and Reason, the individual analysis of each plane with the help of the geometry of the Circle and the Square respectively, and finally the recomposition of the two planes in a new representation which, in uniting time and space, will give indications as to the event.

 

 

 

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II - INTRODUCTION

 

The idea of representing the nude man, with open arms, enclosed within a circle or a square, was not an invention of the genius of Leonardo, and yet the fame of the Vitruvian Man (1492) is much greater than that of the other representations on the same theme. In fact it resolves the problem of “squaring the circle” by portraying the figure of a man inscribed – simultaneously – within a circle and a square. The figure, perfectly balanced according to the humanistic canons of the Renaissance, is also known as the “Canon of Proportions”, and according to some sources is the model for the depiction of the body of Jesus on the Cross (link). In its symbolic interpretation, the work represents the synchronicity between the microcosm, man and his body, and the macrocosm, understood as a force of nature or cosmic force, though the latter is not explicitly portrayed.

 

 

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III - DECODING

 

The operations we performed on the work so as to decipher its hidden prophetic message were organized in the following 4 points:

 

1. CORRECTION – Adjustment of Leonardo’s drawing on the basis of scientific principles. Rereading the work with Reason leads to the elimination of two errors to be found in Leonardo’s depiction of the human body:

a. The anatomical disposition of human beings means that each leg has its own rotational centre; however, in Leonardo’s drawing both legs seem to rotate with respect to the navel, something which is physically impossible as in the vertical position, rather than being parallel, the two legs would be superimposed on each other. But as in reality the legs are parallel and each of them revolves on its own fulcrum which is to be found in the pelvis, decentralized with respect to the axis of symmetry, the rotation radius of the leg cannot be equal to the radius of the circumference of the Circle in which the man is inscribed (see Fig.1a). In addition, the measurement of the leg is not taken from the navel, and cannot therefore be the radius of the circle. It is found that, utilizing the true rotational centre, each leg, so that it can be precisely inscribed in the circle, should have an angulation with respect to the normal vertical position greater than the maximum possible for man. The two spread legs of the original drawing were therefore eliminated (see. Fig.1b). It is seen that this operation does not undermine Leonardo’s squaring of the circle, which can still be seen with the inclination of arm alone (see Fig.3).

Fig.1a: on the left, Leonardo’s original construction: while the rotation of the Vitruvian Man’s arm is anatomically and geometrically correct, the spread leg pose is impossible from the anatomical point of view: the rotation of the legs cannot be centred on the navel as drawn by Leonardo. On the right the construction implemented according to the anatomical reality of the human body: when the rotation effectively takes place around its own centre, at the point at which the base of the foot intersects the circle, the leg is at a physically impossible angle, and in any case would never be inscribed in the circle at the angle at which it has been drawn by Leonardo (below).

 

b. The Vitruvian Man measures listed by Leonardo on his drawing, can be represented as following:

Pic.1: the Vitruvian man was drawn to scale, so the units depicted are displayed with their proper historical ratios. (online source: wikipedia)

 

The Vitruvian Man arms span is 4 cubits long, or 6 feet, or 182,88 centimeters. According to Leonardo the same dimension measures man’s height. But,, according to anthropometric studies, the ratio between the arm span and body height is not 1:1, but rather, in adult males, arm span exceeds body height measurement by some centimetres, according to a most widespread ratio of  1:1.031. Leonardo’s original drawing is therefore lowered in order to find the true ratio between the measurements (see Fig.1b). Keeping his arm span to 182,88 cm, his height is shortened to 177,4 centimeters.

 


Fig.1b: On the left, Vitruvian Man corrected to eliminate the spread legs (point 1.a), on the right Vitruvian Man further corrected lowering his height to 177,4 centimeers (point 1.b).

 

c. No further errors having been found, the conclusive representation of point 1 is implemented:

 

Fig.2: Vitruvian Man corrected to eliminate the spread legs and lowering his height

 

We now pass to the separation of the two planes, SPIRIT and REASON, analysing the figure of the corrected Vitruvian Man, first in the Circle, and then in the Square alone.

 

Fig.3: Vitruvian Man squares the circle also without the spread legs: his body is simultaneously inscribed in a SQUARE and a CIRCLE. His figure has been drawn by Leonardo in a way that it is sufficient that his arms raise rotating of about 23° in order to switch from a Square to a Circle based diagram.

 

 

 

Interpretative planes present together in the work

Corresponding geometrical form in which V.M. is inscribed, and respective symbolic significance

Position of V.M.’s arm.

Separation of Vitruvian Man into the two circumscribed figures

System used for the decoding of the V.M.

Disciplines used for the decoding of the V.M.

 Indications resulting from the decoding of the V.M.

Decoding resulting diagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

SPIRIT

CIRCLE

 

 

MACROCOSM

INCLINED

ART AND RELIGION

ASTROLOGY
SYMBOLIC ART
CHRISTIANITY ESOTERISM

Time:
WHEN

(point  2)

REASON

QUADRATO

 

MICROCOSM

HORIZONTAL

SCIENCE

ANTHROPOMETRY - ANATOMY- PHYSIOGNOMY

 

Space: WHERE

(point 3)

Tab1: Separation of the 2 superimposed planes that form the Vitruvian Man and that, once recomposed at the end of the process, give the space-time indication of the event.

 

 

2. SPIRIT (Analysis of the CIRCLE) – Integration and completion of Leonardo’s drawing, in particular of its spiritual significance, through the complete representation of the macrocosm. Utilizing the new figure of the Vitruvian Man which results from point 1, the drawing is completed with the representation of the macrocosm which surrounds the Man outside the Circle within which he is inscribed. Rereading the work with Spirit and Art, for completion we are led to utilize an astral chart of the solar system with the planets passing through the constellations of the Zodiac to represent that which gravitates towards the external perimeter of the Circle.

We recall that:

    • For Astrology, an astral chart which indicates the positions of the planets with respect to place of birth, cast at the moment of an individual’s birth, serves to interpret his psychological characteristics and personality (we could say his Spirit).
    • For Christianity, the Cross is the most important emblem, a universal symbol that represents faith in the Spirit of Christ and of his Resurrection. On a cross, the naked body of Christ is portrayed dieing with legs together and arms outstretched. The Cross is also believed to be the sign that will appear on heaven at the Second Coming of Christ as King of the Kings.
    • In the history of Art there has been over time a succession of images of Man enclosed within a circle around which are depicted the forces of nature or, more frequently, the celestial bodies in the zodiac signs, with the intention of symbolizing the hoped coming of a Man as perfect in Spirit as in the Body. This symbol has been found since paleochristian times representing the living Christ created in the image of God, in perfect harmony with the dynamic forces of the Universe. It was therefore decided to utilize the representation of a Zodiac, or astral chart, to complete Leonardo’s drawing.
    • For Hermetic Magic, the man “measure of all things” would appear ideally in human form, just at the 36th Decan of the Zodiac, or the last Decan of Pisces (10th - 20th of March). He is being represented with no zoomorphic attributes, but as a crowned king of perfect form, mien, and carriage.
    • In the text of the “Angelic Helpers” of the Kabbalah, particularly on that one dedicated to the “Angels of Omnipotence and Omnipresence”, the union between the microcosm and macrocosm is celebrated on the 30th degree of the sign of Pisces, corresponding to the last degree of the last Decan of Pisces (20th of March).
    • This solar degree generally corresponds to 20th of March, in the period in which the Earth is believed to be in perfect unison with the cosmos, since mesopotamic civilizations. Still, this is the eve of the new year in solar and astrological calendar.

In the light of these considerations, we searched for a moment when the position of the planets on the astral chart coincides with the position of Vitruvian Man, as he has been corrected at point 1, or rather of his extremities (arms, head, legs). That alignment already exists, unique and unrepeatable, dating back to 20th of March 1974, at the moment when the planets formed a CROSS configuration. We then superimposed the astral chart with planets and constellations relative to the date identified in our comparative investigation, so that the centre of the Man’s navel coincided with the geocentric centre of the Zodiac (which coincides with the centre of the Earth); the projections of each planet were then brought onto the circle of the Vitruvian Man (see Fig.4).

    Fig.4: Left: the geocentric Zodiac of the 20th of March 1974, the date of the unrepeatable event of the CROSS disposition of the planets of the solar system around the Earth. Right: Superimposition of Vitruvian Man on the same Zodiac.

     

It is noted that the perfection of the Vitruvian body harmoniously reflects the perfection of the disposition of the celestial bodies around him. In this way the WHEN of the event in question is obtained – the birth of the New Man, and the following diagram is drawn, in which the astral chart found is superimposed on the drawing of the corrected Vitruvian Man   (see Fig.5).

 

Fig.5:  The final diagram of the analyses of  the Circle indicates WHEN the New Man is born.

 

Tab.2:  planets in the solar system. It is noted that, being a chart drawn with a geocentric system of reference, the Earth coincides with the Vitruvian Man’s navel.

 

 

3. REASON (Analyses of the SQUARE) – Measurement of Vitruvian Man, and comparison with a real man. On the basis of the results described above at point 2, we seek an individual born on the 20th of March 1974 and who resembles Vitruvian Man. Utilizing the new figure of the Vitruvian Man in point 1, and the photograph of a person identified on the basis of point 2, appearance, proportions and body distribution are compared:

a. With the help of Physiognomy, we seek an individual with the same physical appearance as the New Man. . He is eventually found in Bari (I), where he was born at 4:15AM. We then draw a modular orthogonal grid on the corrected drawing of the corrected Vitruvian Man (fig.3), on the basis of the indications given by Leonardo himself. The grid is then superimposed on the photo of the person identified and the proportions are measured. We see that the two have identical proportions, while the physical appearance of the Vitruvian Man clearly coincides with the physical appearance of the New man. On the basis of the resulting diagram, the second indication is thus obtained: WHERE the New Man is born (see Fig.6).


Fig.6: The diagram, based on the analyses of the square, indicates WHERE the New Man is born

 

b. To verify this, the photograph of the New Man is superimposed on the figure of the Vitruvian Man. The photo has been taken by an amateur, so a little distortion may occur, but we did not edit it or applied any correction or adjustment. Centring the navel of one on the other, the surroundings are perfectly superimposed in the proportions of the parts, in the position of the individual parts of the body (such as the chest, navel, eyes), and in the outline, apart from a minimum difference in the triceps, which are more developed in the New Man (see Fig.7). The difference which emerges in the legs is due to the position in the photograph and not to dimensional factors.

Fig.7: The superimposed image of the Vitruvian Man and the New Man coincides in proportions and distribution of parts of body and outline.

 

c. For further verification, the figure of the Vitruvian Man was measured, on the base of the considerations mentioned in point 1b: his height was shortened from 182,8 to 177,4 centimetres, according to most widespread anthropometric arm-span / height ratio. Comparing the figure with the New Man it is found that measurements, beginning with height, coincide with each other with tolerances that do not exceed two centimetres (see Fig.7b)..

Fig.7b:  The measurements taken on the body of the New Man are equivalents to those of the Vitruvian Man

 

 

4. SPIRIT AND REASON – Unification of the two planes in a living human being. For the properties of equality described above in point 3, and in the knowledge that this individual was born on the 20th of March 1974 at 4:15AM, at the exact moment of the apparition of the Cross in the sky (see fig.4 and 5), we can finally substitute in figure 5 the photograph of a real body in the place of its representation,  in the same position as the correct Vitruvian Man at point 1. Therefore, superimposing the WHEN (20th of March 1974) with the WHERE (Bari), we obtain the WHO, or rather the identity of the New Man, created in the image and likeness of the universe, in which the correspondence between the two levels, Body and Spirit, is perfect (see Fig.8).

 

Fig.8:  The resulting diagram, based on the Circle and the Square, indicates  WHEN and  WHERE the New Man was born, and thus his IDENTITY

 

 

 +    =

Fig.9:  Origin of  fig. 8: WHEN + WHERE = WHO

 

 

 

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IV - CONCLUSION

 

The decoding of Leonardo’s work has brought us to the discovery of the existence of the New Man, through 4 operations, each of which has produced 4 diagrams, the last of which reveals the identity of the New Man:

1) (correction) -  the original Vitruvian Man is corrected (fig.2), we pass to the separation of the two planes, Spirit and Reason;

2) (plane of the Spirit, analyses of the Circle) – the corrected Vitruvian Man [1] is completed by the  Macrocosm, making his Circle coincide with the Circle of the Zodiac of the birth of the New Man (fig.5). We pass to the plane of Reason;

3) (plane of Reason, analyses of the Square) – the body of the New Man substitutes the corrected Vitruvian Man [1] in the representation of the Microcosm, following the noted physical similarity  (fig.6). we finally pass to the recompositon of the two planes;

4)  (plane of Reason and Spirit) – the New Man [3] substitutes the Vitruvian Man in his own Macrocosm, that is in his own natal Zodiac [2] (fig.8).

 

 

Fig.10: the  4 decoding operations lead to the discovery of the identity of the New Man, through the separation of the corrected Vitruvian Man, the analyses of each plane individually, the recomposition of the two planes.

 

 

In the diagram which results from the process of decoding, the two positions of the arms mean that, at the peak of his psycho-physical development, the body of the New Man is inscribed simultaneously in the geometry of both the Square and the Circle. In the synthesis of the two different positions he assumes a final Cross configuration, which we have found to be a mirror image of the Cross configuration of the planets of the solar system at the time of his birth. The uniqueness of that correspondence between Microcosm and Macrocosm defines the space-time event of the coming of the New Man to the World.

 

Fig.11: The diagram resulting from the decoding: the correspondence of Microcosm and Macrocosm defines the space-time event of the coming of the New Man to the Earth. His body is photographed at 33 years of age and is circumscribed within his natal Zodiac.

 

 

 

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V - CONCLUDING NOTE

 

The Vitruvian Man the most important of the premonitory visions of Leonardo da Vinci. We have seen that the prophetic message to posterity of the coming to Earth of a New Man is concealed in the drawing of the Vitruvian Man (see fig.11). It is felt to be important to elaborate on our study, by considering the spiritual implications of this discovery. We have already said that, according some authors, the drawing is the canonical model for the representation of the body of Christ on the Cross (link). In the light of this consideration, and also on the basis of the decoding analyses we have conducted, we can affirm that the Vitruvian Man merges in a single icon two symbols of Christian doctrine that involve his central figure. 
In reality, if we separate the two superimposed levels of his “Canon of Proportions”, Leonardo has drawn a single man inscribed first in the geometry of the Square, with his arms in a T position as on the Cross, as the canon for the representation of Christ on the Cross, then he is inscribed in the Circle with his arms in a Y position – in conformity with Christian iconographic tradition (link) – as the canon for the representation of Christ the King of Kings at the moment of His appearance to the world during His Second Advent, that is at the time of Last Judgement.
To respond to our initial question regarding the explanation for the worldwide fame of this drawing, we can say that it perfects in a single geometric scheme the depiction of the body of Christ in the two most symbolic poses for Christian art: Christ dying on the cross and Christ who returns to the Earth in glory and with the full powers to judge and raise the Kingdom of peace and justice according to his teachings handed down for two millennia (see fig.12).

 

 

Death of Christ

Second Coming of Christ

The “Vitruvianized” Christ

Arms in  T position

Arms in Y position

Arms in T and Y positions

Died on cross 2000 years ago

Alive today

Drawing of 1492

Fig.12: The “vitruvianized” Christ represents both the Death and the Advent of Christ

 

While in the opinion of Leonardo, who translates into an image the phrase: “God created man in his own image and likeness” (Gen. 1,27), the Christ who returns to Earth from the Heavens finally freed of His Cross, should possess those “divine” physical proportions, in our study we have seen how this perfect microcosm corresponds to the manifestation of an macrocosm which is also perfectly founded on geometric rules, the tangible sign of the geometrical precision of God. We have in fact discovered that God has recently created a geometrically perfect New Man born at a geometrically perfect celestial moment. And we have also discovered that Christ’s Cross, not depicted in the artist’s drawing, was imprinted in the sky, a tangible sign of the divine destiny of the New Man.
If the Cross which appeared in the sky on 20th of march 1974 (see fig.4), is the cosmic sign of the second coming of Christ, as foretold by Jesus himself ("and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven" (Mt. 24:30), then the New Man (see fig.11) – born 33 years ago at that moment of divine equilibrium in the Heavens, and now an adult with a divine body on the Earth – he could be no other than the heralded Christ King of Kings, which people have awaited for thousands of years.

 

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Copyrighted essay by M. Martelli © 2007-2008

Page under construction. For any comments, please contact: prophecy@aiborg.net

also visit the following links:

THE DA VINCI PROPHECY - THE ADVENT OF A NEW MAN

HOW DID DISCOVER THE TIME OF THE NEW MAN COMING ON THE EARTH

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