The time has come to see what’s drawn us to Venice’s Gallerie dell’Accademia. You’ve seen it numerous times. It’s a drawing called “Vitruvian Man.” It’s said to be the most famous drawing in the world. What is it about this simple drawing that makes it so special?
Vitruvian Man was drawn by the one and only Leonardo da Vinci. At the time, he hung out with guys we met last time — Albrecht Dürer, the Bellinis. Like them, he lived and worked in Venice for a while, and like them, he was keenly interested in the newly-translated ancient Greek texts.
Vitruvius
Vitruvian Man is named after an architect from Roman times named Vitruvius. (It rhymes with “Vesuvius,” the volcano).
Even though Vitruvius was a Roman, ancient Greek architecture was his passion. He wrote a 10-volume set of books on architecture, much of it dedicated to Greek architectural principles. It’s the oldest book about architecture that anyone knows about.
But it was more than just a book about architecture. Vitruvius thought the human form was the most perfect example of design. He described in detail what he considered to be man’s ideal proportions. When his books were rediscovered and printed by Aldus Manutius, (remember him?), 15th-century Venetians couldn’t get enough of them.
Luca Pacioli
So far, so good. But now it’s time to introduce the next player in our story. You’re not going to like him – at least not at first. His name is Luca Pacioli. He was a math teacher back in the day. In his spare time he invented modern-day accounting. (Clearly an over-achiever).
In 1494, Pacioli wrote the first modern algebra textbook. It was the forerunner of algebra books that would be used to torture junior high school students for centuries to come.
Pacioli made up problems for his students to solve… Gondola “A” leaves St. Mark’s Square at 2:00 PM, headed toward the Rialto Bridge. Gondola “B” leaves the Rialto Bridge at 2:15 PM, headed for St. Mark’s Square. Each gondola can go 15 feet per minute. At what time do they meet? You can thank Luca Pacioli for those algebra problems.
Luca and Leonardo
Luca Pacioli was no ordinary math teacher. He was Leonardo da Vinci’s math teacher. Not only that. Pacioli and da Vinci were buds and even roomies. That’s correct – roomies. One could imagine Luca Pacioli and Leonardo da Vinci as roomies having a conversation…
Pacioli – “Leonardo, if we… “
Da Vinci – “Please. Luca – call me Leo”
Pacioli – (Sigh)…”Er, uh, Leo — if we’re going to be roomies, I have to tell you, I don’t get out much. And I like it quiet so I can study… “
Da Vinci – “No problemo! And since you’re teaching me mathematics, I guess I’ll be studying quite a bit myself.”
Pacioli – “Thank you for understanding. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some algebra problems to work on.“
Da Vinci – “Uh… Luca… that reminds me. There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you about.”
Pacioli – “Speak my brother. What’s on your mind? A question about quadratic equations, perhaps?“
Da Vinci – “Not exactly. It’s about those gondola problems you make me do. They’re so dumb. What am I ever going to use this stuff for?”
Pacioli – “O contrario! They’re not dumb at all. They’re used to train your brain to think logically.“
Da Vinci – “Then why not use something logical to train my brain to think logically? And what time do those two gondolas meet, anyway?
The Rabbit Problem
One day, when Luca was playing with algebra problems, he was reminded of a neat problem he knew. He told Leonardo about it, and Leonardo agreed – it was a pretty neat problem. Here it is…
“In January, a lady put a baby male and female rabbit into her garden. It takes two months for rabbits to be, ahem, productive. After their second month they produce a pair of baby rabbits. Assume that each pair of rabbits bears a new pair of baby rabbits every month, starting after their second month. How many pairs of rabbits were there in the garden at the end of July?”
Luca Pacioli didn’t make this problem up. It was a well-known – even famous – math problem 300 years before Luca told Leonardo about it. We’ll solve it next time, and we’ll find out what the solution might have to do with Vitruvian Man.
To be continued…
