DaVinci's Ghost by Toby Lester

One of the most famous drawings of all time is DaVinci's Vitruvian Man.  This book, written by an art historian, explains the philosophical and religious symbolism of this famous image which began with Greco/Romans and carried on into Christianity. He explains how the idea of inscribing the human form within a square and a  circle was described by Vitruvius, and then passed from one major philosopher/artist to another until it was finally embodied by DaVinci. He also gives a brief history of DaVinci's life and work and how the drawing fit into his own world view. 

Here is another book I read to get ready for my trip to Italy in November. It may seem strange to have a 300 page book discuss just one piece of art, but here it is.  It is well written too, and I learned a lot about the symbolism behind the drawing.  I had never heard of the idea that the human body could be seen as representing the whole world.  I find if fascinating that both pagans and Christians found this idea compelling. The Romans saw the Roman Empire as an extension of the body of the Emperor. The Christians reasoned that if God created Adam in his own image, and if God is perfect and fills the universe, than the human body must be a representation of the universe.  There is a lot more about the symbolism of the square and the circle, and also about the proportions of the perfect body. I think a lot of people who love the humanities would enjoy this book. (320 p. 2012)