Issue 3 2016 – Front Cover – IMMpress Magazine

IMMpress Magazine

The Magazine for the University of Toronto Department of Immunology

For this issue of IMMpress Magazine, we look to the ultimate Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci, whose claim to fame spans everything from painting, music, and history to engineering, science, and palaeontology. While his paintings still draw thousands to the galleries today, he was most prolific as a draftsman, keeping 13,000 journal pages of sketches and notes that highlighted not only his artistry but also his technical ingenuity. These pages featured extensive studies in physiology and anatomy, as well as detailed schematics for inventions such as the flying machine, hydraulic pumps, and musical instruments. The Vitruvian Man (circa 1485), a sketch featuring two superimposed positions of a man inscribed within a circle and square, is a depiction of the ideal proportions of the male human body as geometrically described by the Roman architect and military engineer Vitruvius. Da Vinci viewed the human body as an analogy for the universe — that is, the same harmonious proportions and essential symmetries of human anatomy are represented in the mathematical orders of everything else. As such, The Vitruvian Man is widely regarded as an essential piece from the Renaissance era for its masterful blend of math and science with art — a common theme that we try to convey with every issue IMMpress. In our exploration of Men’s Health, we took a page from Da Vinci’s immense scope and universality in tackling not only the scientific, but also the social and political determinants of well-being. We have also depicted our Vitruvian Man entwined with the caduceus, the universal symbol of negotiation and commerce—often also associated with health in North America, to further represent this diversity in examination. — For this issue of IMMpress Magazine, we look to the ultimate Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci, whose claim to fame spans everything from painting, music, and history to engineering, science, and palaeontology. While his paintings still draw thousands to the galleries today, he was most prolific as a draftsman, keeping 13,000 journal pages of sketches and notes that highlighted not only his artistry but also his technical ingenuity. These pages featured extensive studies in physiology and anatomy, as well as detailed schematics for inventions such as the flying machine, hydraulic pumps, and musical instruments.
The Vitruvian Man (circa 1485), a sketch featuring two superimposed positions of a man inscribed within a circle and square, is a depiction of the ideal proportions of the male human body as geometrically described by the Roman architect and military engineer Vitruvius. Da Vinci viewed the human body as an analogy for the universe — that is, the same harmonious proportions and essential symmetries of human anatomy are represented in the mathematical orders of everything else. As such, The Vitruvian Man is widely regarded as an essential piece from the Renaissance era for its masterful blend of math and science with art — a common theme that we try to convey with every issue IMMpress.
In our exploration of Men’s Health, we took a page from Da Vinci’s immense scope and universality in tackling not only the scientific, but also the social and political determinants of well-being. We have also depicted our Vitruvian Man entwined with the caduceus, the universal symbol of negotiation and commerce—often also associated with health in North America, to further represent this diversity in examination.

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Angela Zhou

Angela is a PhD student at the University of Toronto currently studying immune responses to influenza infection. When not in the lab, she enjoys painting, wandering aimlessly, and spending quality time with good friends.

Latest posts by Angela Zhou (see all)

Issue 1, 2019 – Cover - May 6, 2019
The 10,000 PhDs Project - April 2, 2018
Year 2: The Naylor Report & The Case for Science and Inquiry - December 4, 2017

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