Come Leonardo disegnò l’Uomo vitruviano?

The Studio of Proportions of the Human Body, widely recognized as Vitruvian Man, is among Leonardo’s most universally known works. This manuscript reports what the drawing reveals under careful surface examination, avoiding any interpretative hypotheses. The analyses were carried out through digital image processing technologies, which favor the 3D reconstruction of the drawing’s topography and its correct chromatic definition, relying on colorimetric rather than spectral methods. The 3D replica fosters detailed investigation of how both the graphic and proportional systems correspond, suggesting a possible tracing order for the entire drawing, created using different tools or freehand to achieve an intricate level of precision comparable to Leonardo’s thinnest stroke, measuring 90 μm.