Leonardo's legacy on display
9 January 2014
A travelling exhibition displaying the genius of Renaissance artist, inventor and thinker
Leonardo da Vinci is currently on in Cape Town.
Billed as the most comprehensive exhibition on Leonardo to tour the world, the
exhibition highlights the "genius of Leonardo" as an inventor, artist, scientist,
anatomist, engineer, architect, sculptor and philosopher.
Conceived in Melbourne, Australia, the exhibition has been seen by more than four-
million people in more than 50 cities, including Bogota, Budapest, Kiev, Las Vegas,
Manila, Santiago, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Singapore and Venice, Grande Exhibitions says on
its website.
Cape Town is the first African city on its worlwide tour, and the exhibition has been
recognised in the official programme of World Design Capital Cape Town 2014 as "an
exceptional project that demonstrates scale, impact and/or a contribution to the WDC
2014 vision".
Working from Da Vinci’s
notebooks - known as codices - Italian artisans have crafted
200 replicas, including 75 life-size prototypes of his inventions, including the first
concepts of a car, bicycle, helicopter, glider, parachute, a Scuba suit, submarine,
military tank and ideal city.
"There are three classes of people: Those who see; those
who see when they are shown; those who do not see." - Leonardo da Vinci
Facsimiles of Leonardo's most famous codices are also featured. There are large
panels showing his remarkable anatomical studies, Anghiari battle drawings and
Renaissance art.
The 8-sided mirror room is another interactive exhibits that children are sure to
appreciate. Da Vinci noted that if a person stood inside the 8-sided mirror room, they
would be able to see every part of himself or herself) endless times.
The "Secrets of Mona Lisa" shows off the in-depth analysis of the iconic painting
that was conducted
by engineer and photographer Pascal Cotte at the Louvre
Museum in Paris in 2004.
Cotte's photographic examination and findings revealed 25 interesting things about the
world's most famous painting - including identifying the original pigment colours and
proving Mona Lisa did have eyebrows and eyelashes.
"Our visitors have been fascinated to experience the designs of Leonardo da Vinci in
three dimensions," Susan Norton, the director of the National Geographic Museum in
Washington DC, is quoted by the organisers as saying. "From being able to see his
flight machines brought to life to contemplating infinity in his room of mirrors, the
exhibition encourages curious and creative thought."
- The exhibition runs at the Chavonnes Battery Museum at the V&W; Waterfront until
9 February. Open every day from 9am to 9pm. Tickets are available at the venue or
online from Webtickets.
- Website: www.davinciexhibition.co.za
SAinfo reporter
