Da Vinci - The Genius Tour

International Exhibit Includes the Secrets of Mona Lisa Display

Sep 10, 2009

This incredible exhibit is making its way around the world. It was most recently held in Singapore, Canada, England and is currently in Columbia until December 5th, 2009.

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) was clearly a mastermind and possibly the smartest person to ever live. Many of his inventions and insights, shown in the 6,000 pages of manuscripts that have survived, illustrate that his ideas were 400 years ahead their time. For instance, a drawing of a helicopter is included within these manuscripts.

Exhibit Includes Numerous Model Reproductions of Da Vinci's Ideas

When a person first entered the exhibit in Singapore they were brought to many hands-on reproductions of Da Vinci's machine inventions built from material available in 15th Century Italy. This section, which is the largest on display, is great for both adults and children alike. Some of the models on display in Singapore, and in other countries, include flywheels, the ball bearings system, and the coil spring among others. All covering physics and mechanical theories. Some of the larger models, not hands-on, include designs for various war machines, which were requested by his wealthy supporters during a time of war in the late 15th and early 16th centuries in Italy.

Machines of flight were also a passion of Da Vinci's. His drawings include designs for airplanes, gliders, parachutes, helicopters, and many more. A couple of the models built show these designs of flight. In addition, scores of reproductions on civil engineering, hydraulic, aquatic, optical, musical, and time-keeping instrument sketches are also included.

Manuscripts and Designs

Most of Da Vinci's 6,000 pages of codices are too fragile to travel with an exhibit and some will never even be seen by the public. Facsimile copies of the codices are on display here. His sketches, which are housed in different areas of the world, include the famous Vitruvian Man, anatomical drawings, city planning and numerous inventions.

Reproductions of his series of anatomical sketches are on display. He studied human anatomy as part of his apprenticeship with artist Andrea del Verrocchio and soon began dissecting human corpses. In 2005, one of his drawings of the human heart motivated a British surgeon to study new ways to repair heart damage. In addition, he may have been the first to discover hardening of the arteries. His famous preparatory drawings of the Anghiari Battle are also on display.

A new multispectral camera, allowing ultraviolet and infrared shots, was invented by Pascal Cotte. As a result of his invention, he was recently granted authorization to take high definition pictures of the Mona Lisa. The result was 13 astonishing pictures of what the painting originally looked like. In these pictures viewers can now see the original positions of her hand, eyes and famous smile. In addition, the original colors used by the artist are now revealed, along with the fact that he never completed the painting.

3D presentations of the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, the Vitruvian Man, and the Sforza Horse sculpture are all included within this exhibit.

Da Vinci Exhibit is a Must-See

This Da Vinci Exhibit is a must-see for anyone remotely interested on where the ideas of today's technology originated. Although many of his ideas didn't come into existence until centuries later, and many times by other inventors, his designs display the incredible genius of the man. It is a shame that he considered himself a failure as was revealed in one of his final writings: "I have offended God and mankind because my work didn't reach the quality it should have."

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The copyright of the article Da Vinci - The Genius Tour in Traveling Art Exhibits is owned by Julie Maggiacomo Carrera. Permission to republish Da Vinci - The Genius Tour in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.