# Why does Da Vinci's uber-famous "Vitruvian Man" have that weird leg-bend? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 15, 2010, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227 "2010-12-15T12:12:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Recliner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a88e57/32.png) [@Recliner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recliner)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227/1 "2010-12-15T12:12:14Z")
I know this must be widely-known – or maybe obvious from the image – but its been bugging me. Leonardo Da Vinci drew his famous “Vitruvian Man” – you know the one, two overlapping outlines of a man, inscriped in a circle and rectangle – to illustrate the importance of proportion…ality. I’ve learned that the “Vitruvian” comes from Roman architect Vitruvius. I’ve given the drawing a fair-good bit of examination. Check it out in detail, by the way – its worth a look. Why is the one leg weirdly curved above the ankle? The rest of the drawing is angled well-enough that you know it wasn’t just a mistake. What’s the story? ---
**Author:** ![Recliner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a88e57/32.png) [@Recliner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recliner)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227/2 "2010-12-15T12:25:43Z")
Woah…IS it a mistake? I’m checking the geometry, here. The bent leg (the Man’s right leg)…is aimed to face forward, to be adjacent to the heel of his left…you know, I think it might just have been a misplot of some points. Come on, though, surely others have discussed this. Its not even on the damn wikipedia page! ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227/3 "2010-12-15T12:48:44Z")
I can’t say I ever noticed before, but now you’ve pointed it out, it does look weird. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227/4 "2010-12-15T12:55:16Z")
It’s the most important part of the Code. (Posting from 2004.) ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227/5 "2010-12-15T13:09:48Z")
I"m not seeing it. There are some minor anatomical inconsistencies in both the lower calf and knee areas, but the ankles look right for a man who is supposed to be standing in a circle. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227/6 "2010-12-15T13:15:23Z")
Rickets was a common affliction in those days; maybe that was normal then? ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227/7 "2010-12-15T13:23:28Z")
[Fry] It’s truly a masterpiece. Note how the perspective lines draw the eye right to his dong. [/Fry] ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227/8 "2010-12-15T13:30:43Z")
I wonder if daVinci wanted the inside of the foot to be exactly touching the center, and the only way to do that and also keep everything else centered was to have the leg kink in a bit. After all, when people stand, the insides of their feet are not perfectly aligned with their center line unless they are standing at attention 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227/9 "2010-12-15T14:36:54Z")
I noticed this many years ago, and haven’t read a convincing explanation. His right leg that’s extended is correct, and the unextended one should look the same. It doesn’t. The knee and calf are turned, but the foot is not. There’s no way to make a leg look like that, with the foot unturned. It’s as if the model had a club foot. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227/10 "2010-12-15T19:03:34Z")
My impression is that he was drawing the muscluature and was probably explored the calf muscle. I don’t believe he was actually drawing that for public use: it was a physical study for his own use. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227/11 "2010-12-15T19:34:27Z")
Maybe DaVinci just screwed up on this one. Maybe we got one of the early drafts that wasn’t quite right while the one that was perfect was lost over the centuries. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227/12 "2010-12-15T20:13:49Z")
Do you mean the little lump on the inside of his right leg, just below the calf muscle? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227/13 "2010-12-15T21:37:45Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > Do you mean the little lump on the inside of his right leg, just below the calf muscle? No. If you look at the right leg, the one in the “straight down” position, you will see that it looks like the calf curves out to the viewer’s left, as if the toes were pointed to the viewer’s right, similar to the left leg. However, the right foot is clearly pointed directly towards the viewer, giving the effect of the right leg bowing out to the viewer’s left between the knee and ankle. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227/14 "2010-12-15T21:40:56Z")
The right leg that is close to the vertical is not pointed straight at the viewer – there’s an angle to it, the foot is maybe 15 degrees off, and the knee more like 30, so he’s got his ankle turned out. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227/15 "2010-12-15T21:43:52Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > No. If you look at the right leg, the one in the “straight down” position, you will see that it looks like the calf curves out to the viewer’s left, as if the toes were pointed to the viewer’s right, similar to the left leg. However, the right foot is clearly pointed directly towards the viewer, giving the effect of the right leg bowing out to the viewer’s left between the knee and ankle. The other version of the right leg has the foot pointed straight at the viewer, and its big toe is pointed straight at the viewer, if not a little bit to the viewer’s left. The big toe on the vertical leg is pointed to the viewer’s right. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227/16 "2010-12-15T21:52:29Z")
What hump? ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227/17 "2010-12-15T21:57:19Z")
Great, now I will never be able to see the picture again without pondering the funky leg. ---
**Author:** ![chromaticity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@chromaticity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chromaticity)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227/18 "2010-12-16T19:53:51Z")
It kinda makes sense, if Da Vinci was using it as a study. Drawing symmetrical body parts is not so useful and frankly a bit boring I suspect. Now the picture is a good study for a forward facing, and a bent foot. Sort of a two for one deal. ---
**Author:** ![Recliner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a88e57/32.png) [@Recliner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recliner)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227/19 "2010-12-17T02:29:29Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > I"m not seeing it. There are some minor anatomical inconsistencies in both the lower calf and knee areas, but the ankles look right for a man who is supposed to be standing in a circle. If you were the Man, its the right leg. See how its clearly curving back towards the middle of the body? Also, more broadly: this isn’t the angle of the leg – its obvious that he’s got one leg “in profile”, and one facing the viewer…but the Man’s right leg looks, haha, per above…RICKETY. ---
**Author:** ![Recliner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a88e57/32.png) [@Recliner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recliner)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227/20 "2010-12-17T02:31:42Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > Do you mean the little lump on the inside of his right leg, just below the calf muscle? Yep. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-da-vincis-uber-famous-vitruvian-man-have-that-weird-leg-bend/564227.md?page=2)