Artistic canons of body proportions
An artistic canon of body proportions, in the sphere of visual arts, is a formally codified set of criteria deemed mandatory for a particular artistic style of figurative art. The word canon was first used for this type of rule in Classical Greece, where it set a reference standard for body proportions, to produce a harmoniously formed figure appropriate to depict gods or kings. Other art styles have similar rules that apply particularly to the representation of royal or divine personalities.
The traditional Egyptian depiction of the body in flat images. The figure represents the Roman Emperor Trajan (ruled 98–117 CE) making offerings to Egyptian Gods, Dendera Temple complex, Egypt.
Doryphoros (Roman copy)
Shiva as Nataraja (the Lord of Dance)
Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci
Body proportions is the study of artistic anatomy, which attempts to explore the relation of the elements of the human body to each other and to the whole. These ratios are used in depictions of the human figure and may become part of an artistic canon of body proportion within a culture. Academic art of the nineteenth century demanded close adherence to these reference metrics and some artists in the early twentieth century rejected those constraints and consciously mutated them.
Madonna with the Long Neck, c. 1534–1540, by Parmigianino. As in other Mannerist works, the proportions of the body – here the neck – are exaggerated for artistic effect.
Drawing of a human male, showing the order of measurement in preparation for a figurative art work (Lantéri, 1903)
Venus of Brassempouy, about 25,000 years ago
Proportions of a human male face