Leonardo da Vinci, the famous Italian polymath who painted the Mona Lisa, had a sophisticated geometric understanding way ahead of his time.
To draw the Vitruvian Man in 1490 – an illustration of the 'ideal' human body – the Renaissance man may have relied on a mathematical ratio not formally established until the 19th century.
It's one of the most iconic images of all time, and yet for more than 500 years, no one could figure out why da Vinci chose such specific proportions for the arms and legs.
A London dentist thinks he's solved the mystery at last.
Rory Mac Sweeney has found a crucial hidden detail, tucked in the Vitruvian Man's crotch: an equilateral triangle that he thinks may explain "one of the most analyzed yet cryptic works in art history."
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