Vitruvian Man - Leonardo da Vinci, 1487. (Historical Wall Art)
This print is simple, iconic, and easy to live with. The pen lines feel calm and direct, and the circle and square give it a clean structure that looks great as wall art in an office, studio, or reading corner. If your home decor leans warm and old-world, it sits nicely with other vintage art prints.
About this art print
Vitruvian Man is Leonardo’s study of human proportion, made around 1487., with notes inspired by Vitruvius, a Roman architect who wrote about “ideal” measurements in the human body. The idea is straightforward: the same body can be measured in different ways, so Leonardo places the figure in two positions at once, then fits it inside a circle and a square. It is one of those images that feels almost modern, even though it comes from the Renaissance.
What makes it more than a symbol is that Leonardo did not just copy an old text. He tested proportions himself, then adjusted the geometry so the square and circle can work without twisting the body. The original drawing is held by the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, and it is rarely displayed because paper is fragile over time. That same Renaissance love of clean line and careful proportion shows up again in St. George On Horseback (Albrecht Dürer, 1508.), where you can see the same careful study of the human figure, just turned into movement, armor, and a real scene.
Craft & finish
Every replica we make is individually hand-processed in our family workshop. We finish the paper with a traditional beeswax seal to give it a warm, heavy texture. Our team also adds subtle gold paint details by hand to help the artwork truly shine. To complete the look, we hand-burn the edges to give each piece the feel of a true historical artifact.
While our smaller sizes are perfect for gallery walls, our 43x61 cm Large replica is a museum-scale centerpiece. Because of the size, the hand-processing and beeswax application take much longer. This extra time and care ensures that every centimeter of the historic illustration is preserved with a rich, authentic glow.
Find more prints like this in our Vintage Art Prints collection.
Vitruvian Man (Leonardo da Vinci, 1487.) - Vintage Art Print
Buy 2 Get 15% Off
At Artifex Historical Replicas, we bridge the gap between museum archives and your home. Each piece is a handcrafted historical art print recreated from authentic primary sources, including antique city views and botanical illustrations.
Hand-Processed Paper: We use specialized paper with burned edges and a beeswax finish to replicate the weight and feel of genuine old parchment.
Gilded Details: Our workshop adds subtle real gold accents, bringing the same glow to your walls found in 16th-century illuminated manuscripts.
Custom Sizes & Worldwide Shipping: We offer bespoke sizing for custom frames and ship our historical replicas globally from our family workshop.
Explore our full guide on how we create, display, and restore parchment-style replicas.
