Editing Vitruvian Man (section)

===Creation===
[[File:Leonardo da Vinci - RCIN 919131, Recto The proportions of the arm.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|''The proportions of the arm'', a drawing by Leonardo which was probably in preparation for the ''Vitruvian Man'']]
Leonardo's version of the ''Vitruvian Man'' corrected inaccuracies in Vitruvius's account, particularly related to the head, due to use of book two of the ''[[De pictura]]'' by [[Leon Battista Alberti]].{{sfn|Bambach|2019a|p=224}} Earlier drawings of the same subject "assumed that the circle and square should be centered around the navel", akin to Vitruvius's account, while Leonardo made the scheme work by using the man's genitals as the center of the square, and the navel as the center of the circle.{{sfn|Kemp|2019|p=85}} It is likely that Leonardo's drawings dated to 1487–1490, and entitled ''The proportions of the arm'', were related to the ''Vitruvian Man'', possibly serving as preparatory sketches.{{sfn|Syson|Keith|Galansino|Mazzotta|2011|p=150}}

Some commentators have speculated that Leonardo incorporated the [[golden ratio]] in the drawing, possibly due to his illustrations of [[Luca Pacioli]]'s ''[[Divina proportione]]'', partially plagiarized from [[Piero della Francesca]],{{sfn|Mackinnon|1993|p=165}}{{refn|The third section of Pacioli's ''[[Divina proportione]]'' is essentially an uncredited Italian translation of della Francesca's ''[[De quinque corporibus regularibus]]''{{sfn|Mackinnon|1993|p=165}}|group=n}} concerning the ratio.{{sfn|Bambach|2019a|p=225}}{{sfn|Bambach|2019b|p=238}} However, the ''Vitruvian Man'' is likely to have been drawn before Leonardo met Pacioli, and there has been doubt over the accuracy of such an observation.{{sfn|Murtinho|2015}}  As architectural scholar Vitor Murtinho explains, a circle tangent to the base of a square, with the radius and square sides related by the golden ratio, would pass exactly through the top two corners of the square, unlike Leonardo's drawing. He suggests instead constructions based on a [[regular octagon]] or on the [[vesica piscis]].{{sfn|Murtinho|2015}}

Leonardo's drawing is almost always dated to around 1490 during his [[Leonardo da Vinci#First Milanese period (c. 1482–1499)|first Milanese period]].{{sfn|Zöllner|2019|p=112}}{{sfn|Arasse|1998|p=105}} The exact dating is not completely agreed upon and earlier generations of art historians, including [[Arthur E. Popham]], frequently dated the work anywhere from 1485 to 1490.{{sfn|Bambach|2019a|p=224}} Two leading art historians differ in this respect; [[Martin Kemp (art historian)|Martin Kemp]] gives {{circa|1487}},{{sfn|Kemp|1981|p=116}}{{refn|The unexplained dating of the drawing to 1497 in {{harvtxt|Kemp|2019|p=85}} is almost certainly a typo, which was meant to be the 1487 that {{harvtxt|Kemp|1981|p=116}} gives.|group=n}} while [[Carmen C. Bambach]] contends that the earliest possible date—which "one may not entirely discount"—is 1488.{{sfn|Bambach|2019a|p=224}} Bambach, in addition to Pedretti, Giovanna Nepi Scirè and Annalisa Perissa Torrini give a slightly broader range of {{circa|1490–1491}}.{{sfn|Bambach|2019b|p=237}} Bambach explains that this range fits "best with the manner of exact, engraving-like parallel hatching contained within robust pen-and-ink outlines, over traces of lead paint, stylus-ruling, and compass composition".{{sfn|Bambach|2019a|p=224}}