Vitruvian Man - Leonardo da Vinci's Interpretation of the Golden Proportion and its Application in Modern Dentistry

Leonardo da Vinci’s drawing ‘Vitruvian Man’ has captured the imagination of generations while, at the same time, confounding them with its meaning. Upon casual inspection it appears to be merely a masterfully drawn representation of a male figure with odd handwritten notes and various geometric figures about it. In actuality, Leonardo placed in his drawing a shrouded message which, by his lifetime, had already been passed down among the masters for approximately two millenia. This message is pertinent today, in the twenty-first century, as dentistry strives to produce restorations which approach that which nature itself has created. The breadth of Leonardo da Vinci’s work is staggering. The life’s work of Leonardo traversed a diverse spectrum from mechanics to sculpture, from anatomy to painting, from architecture to drawing. The breadth of his work and knowledge was awe-inspiring. However, his immense collection of works was merely a by-product of his superlative intellect. Throughout the centuries scientists and historians have attempted to make some sense of Leonardo’s intellectual abilities. In order to attempt to grasp the magnificence of both Leonardo’s intellect and its offspring, his creations, one most not focus solely on the amazing breadth of his work but also its depth. The majestic beauty of Leonardo’s works rests in the marriage of seemingly unrelated disciplines. Leonardo took disciplines which even today appear to be unrelated and coalesced the two into a finished product which was not only technically perfect or only artist ically without equal. Leonardo had a multi-disciplinary approach to his work and this is what breathed life into his creations and separated his work from that of the other masters. Nowhere in Leonardo’s vast compendium of works is this marriage between multiple disciplines more apparent than in his drawing, ‘Vitruvian Man’. ‘Vitruvian Man’ is Leonardo’s ciphered prescription to future generations to decode his secret for bringing a lifelike quality to his work. This quality in one’s work is oft-desired by many various professions and artisans but, yet, is so rarely obtained. These highly skilled and proficient practitioners of various disciplines usually always fall short in their pursuit of that elusive quality which would transcend their work from mere excellence to the realm of a higher entity. In ‘Vitruvian Man’ it is almost as if Leonardo himself is delivering a coded lesson to modern dentists. He is demonstrating to us that the scientific aspects of the dental profession must exist in concert with its artistic aspects in order to provide the elusive breath of life into the visceral creations of the dental profession. Leonardo instructs us, in extreme detail, how to transform our creations (i.e. veneers, crowns, etc.) from a technically superior piece of craftsmanship into an object which approaches that which it has been meant to replace.