Whether or not you like his movies, the undisputed genius of Leonardo da Vinci lives on in this Italian Refillable Sketch Book. Antiqued finish, recycled leather, unique open-stitched detail. So universal, the fine milled Fabriano Paper pages are ideal for all dry media; very Leonardo! Accepts pencil, pen-and-ink, charcoal, and markers nicely.

Refill your book with 3 different Fabriano Paper styles: Blank Book, Lined Journal and Sketchbook.

Front Cover View: The Vitruvian Man Italian Refillable Sketch Book.

Back Cover View: Hand Worked Leather Detail.

You'll be inspired by this Italian Refillable Sketch Book adorned with a detailed leather print of one of the most beloved images in the art world, The Vitruvian Man, drawn by Leonardo da Vinci. Handcrafted in Florence, Italy both covers are nicely embossed with added gold leafed trim on the front cover. Fine artistic details are embossed onto matte finished recycled leather across the front and rear inner jackets. The entire perimeter of the book (inside and out) is sewn in a open-stitched loop and eyelet fashion with half inch, deep brown, flat cord. Archival rated to last 125 or more years, when properly cared for, your sketches, drawings and thoughts are sure to be well preserved! (Editors note: a major retailer has tried to copy this with less attention to detail and quality; but don't be fooled! Are poor imitations still flattery?)

Italian Refillable Sketch Book Details:
–Handbound in Florence Italy.
–Size: 6.6 x 9.3 x .8 inches (width x height x thickness).
–The recycled Italian Refillable Sketch Book is hand finished to an Old World Brown.
–Light-ivory-colored, medium-fine, very-slight tooth, even grain Fabriano Paper fills the Sketchbook.
–Replaceable Sketchbook is smyth sewn to withstand prolonged usage.
–256 Fabriano Paper pages (128 sheets) 5.7 x 8.3 inch page size.
–Each Fabriano Paper page is specifically engineered for dry media.
–Designed for final artwork using pencil, pen-and-ink, charcoal, and markers.
–Italian Refillable Sketch Book page stock is acid-free, buffered, low-lignin and of a heavy 5 mil caliper.
–Archival rating of 125 years plus!

Front Cover Detail View: The Vitruvian Man

The Vitruvian Man Drawing and Text (background)
While Leonardo did not succeed in his scientific assertion of the proportions for the human body (as also proposed by Vitruvius), da Vinci has inspired countless artists in their own interpretation of the essential symmetry of the human body as expressed in The Vitruvian Man. Like the original in the Gallerie dell'Accademia, in Venice, Italy this leather print includes Leonardo's famous mirror written notes and his elaborative study on the proportions of the (male) human body. Transposed (reading right for your sanity!) and translated (from Italian) the text on the cover reads:
The navel is naturally placed in the centre of the human body, and, if in a man lying with his face upward, and his hands and feet extended, from his navel as the centre, a circle be described, it will touch his fingers and toes. It is not alone by a circle, that the human body is thus circumscribed, as may be seen by placing it within a square. For measuring from the feet to the crown of the head, and then across the arms fully extended, we find the latter measure equal to the former; so that lines at right angles to each other, enclosing the figure, will form a square.-- Leonardo da Vinci

Sketchbook Inside View: 256 Fabriano Paper pages

Leonardo da Vinci worked to analyze the universe through his mapping of the human body called cosmografia del minor mondo (cosmography of the microcosm) which made correlations between the similarities and proportional regularities of the human body with that of the outside world (universe). Interestingly, da Vinci based some of his work (including The Vitruvian Man Drawing and Text) on the earlier works of Ancient Roman architect Vitruvius who wrote: that in the human body,
- a palm is the width of four fingers
- a foot is the width of four palms
- a cubit is the width of six palms
- a man's height is four cubits (and thus 24 palms)
- a pace is four cubits
- the length of a man's outspread arms is equal to his height
- the distance from the hairline to the bottom of the chin is one-tenth of a man's height
- the distance from the top of the head to the bottom of the chin is one-eighth of a man's height
- the maximum width of the shoulders is a quarter of a man's height
- the distance from the elbow to the tip of the hand is one-fifth of a man's height
- the distance from the elbow to the armpit is one-eighth of a man's height
- the length of the hand is one-tenth of a man's height
- the distance from the bottom of the chin to the nose is one-third of the length of the head
- the distance from the hairline to the eyebrows is one-third of the length of the face
- the length of the ear is one-third of the length of the face
-- Marcus Vitruvius Pollio
Vitruvius and da Vinci's studies of the proportions of the body are not recognized as scientific fact, but are useful for artists in understanding some of the general similarities in proportion when drawing. Enjoy drawing!

See also: our Fabriano Paper Leonardo Da Vinci Blank Book and Leonardo Da Vinci Lined Journals.