Idealism in Man and City
Idealism in Man and City, 2016. Pen on paper, 6 x 6 inches, 16 x 12 inches, 10 x 6 inches.
The idea of an “ideal city” is vital in understanding the thoughts and values of Renaissance-era Italy. It combines the humanist desire for logic and organization and proposes that this desire manifests into a physical space. This physical space would be pristine, efficient, and could be easily defined and categorized by simple geometric shapes. The logic and geometry evident in the idea of an “ideal city” can also be connected to Vitruvius and Leonardo Da Vinci’s investigations of the human body. Vitruvius was able to logically relate the parts of the body into ratios and geometric shapes, and Leonardo took inspiration from his work and illustrated this in the form of his Vitruvian Man. Both the ideal city and the Vitruvian Man explore the concept of perfection and logic, and both are powerful evidence of the desire for organization and order in the Renaissance period.