Body proportion

Vitruvian man from Divina proportione by Leonardo da Vinci (1490)

The body proportions describe the length and size ratios of a body in relation to one another.

They are an important tool in painting and drawing . By means of easily memorable relationships between the lengths of different body parts, the artist can depict a lifelike person .

Leonardo da Vinci (Vitruvian man) and Le Corbusier ( Modulor ) have particularly distinguished themselves with the design of aesthetic and natural body proportions . Both were criticized for considering the proportions of men as the measure of all things.

In medicine , body proportions are important for the definition of tall or short stature . Other possible deviations from the average proportions are the asymmetrical growth of the halves of the body and acromegaly . The latter can manifest itself in punctually distorted body proportions or in general tall stature.

The body

Body proportions

The following information will help to correctly draw a standing person with regard to the proportions:

The average adult figure is seven to 7.5 head sizes tall. The idealized, "heroic" size - e.g. B. for sculptures - is eight heads tall:
- from crown to chin (head length)
- from there to the middle of the breast (approximately at the level of the nipples)
- from there to the navel
- from there to the pubic region
- from there to the middle of the thigh
- from there to just below the knee
- from there to the middle of the calves
- from there to the sole of the foot

The pubic area is in the middle of the body.
The lower leg is just as long as the thigh.
The limp arms are so long that the fingertips reach the middle of the thighs. The span of the arms (from fingertip of the middle finger to fingertip) corresponds to the total height of the body.
The length of the foot is about as long as the forearm without the hand.

Head and face

Proportions of the head and face

To determine the volume of the skull, draw a rectangle with an aspect ratio of 2: 3. Then divide the length into three equal sections and draw a circle with a radius of one third of the length. The diameter corresponds to the greatest width of the skull. The basic volume of the smaller facial skull is obtained by a circle with the center point between the axis of the eye and the tip of the chin. The basic shape of the face is formed by tangential connections between the two circles. The head is as wide as five eyes. The axis of the eyes is halfway up the head; the distance between the eyes is one eye width. The face can be divided into three parts: from the top of the head to the eyebrow, from there to the underside of the nose and from there to the chin. The distance from the corner of the mouth to the corner of the eye is as great as the height of the ear. The base of the nose is as wide as an eye.

Clinical significance

The body proportions can be changed in many ways:

Short torso ( brachyolmia )
short extremities in achondroplasia , Ellis-van-Creveld syndrome , hypochondroplasia
short upper arms and thighs ( rhizomelia ) in chondrodyplasia punctata, rhizomelic type
Short forearms and lower legs ( mesomelia ) in dyschondrosteosis Léri Weill
Body proportions that change with growth ("metatropia") in metatropic dwarfism

Individual evidence

↑ F. Hefti: Pediatric Orthopedics in Practice . Springer 1998, p. 647, ISBN 3-540-61480-X .

literature

Gottfried Bammes: Studies on the shape of man. Verlag Otto Maier GmbH, Ravensburg 1990, ISBN 3-473-48341-9 .
Gottfried Bammes: Workbook on artist anatomy . Verlag Otto Maier GmbH, Ravensburg 1993, ISBN 3-473-48374-5 .

Louise Gordon: Anatomy and Figure Drawing. Bauverlag GmbH, Wiesbaden and Berlin 1981, ISBN 3-7625-1393-7 .

[1] F. Hefti: Pediatric Orthopedics in Practice . Springer 1998, p. 647, ISBN 3-540-61480-X .