Da Vinci exhibit explores work of ultimate Renaissance man
Courtesy of Imagine Exhibitions and Powers Imagery
Military inventions created by Leonardo da Vinci are on display at “Da Vinci: The Exhibition” through Sept. 2 at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh.
Courtesy of Imagine Exhibitions and Powers Imagery
Painting studies by Leonardo da Vinci are on display at “Da Vinci: The Exhibition” through Sept. 2 at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh.
Courtesy of Imagine Exhibitions and Powers Imagery
Anatomy studies are on display at “Da Vinci: The Exhibition” through Sept. 2 at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh.
PITTSBURGH – Who knew Leonardo da Vinci was a wedding planner?
Sure, da Vinci is known and revered for creating “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper,” and for being a pioneering inventor and energetic polymath. But it turns out that amid all of his wide-ranging pursuits, da Vinci also worked out the logistics for the nuptials of a couple of dukes and and folks who were well-to-do in his native Italy.
That’s one of the many details about history’s ultimate Renaissance man that emerge from “Da Vinci: The Exhibition,” which explores the multi-faceted endeavors da Vinci packed into his hectic 67 years. One thing that is made indisputably clear in the exhibit, which opened last Saturday at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, is that mankind benefited immeasurably from da Vinci’s decision to not make wedding planning his main calling card.
“His impact on humanity is simply unprecedented,” according to Andrea Maxwell, a scholar of Italian Renaissance art at the University of Pittsburgh.
Assembled by Imagine Exhibitions, “Da Vinci: The Exhibition” contains more than 60 life-size reproductions of his inventions. Despite the fact that da Vinci sprang from inauspicious circumstances, having been born out of wedlock in 1452 to a peasant woman near Florence, Italy, and receiving no more than the era’s standard education, he possessed a penetrating intellect and seemingly insatiable curiosity. Almost certainly best-known for his paintings, which are among the most widely-recognized in the world, he was also an inventor. At a moment when Europe was shaking off the doldrums of the Middle Ages, da Vinci had fantastical visions of flying machines, scuba gear and clocks.
The inventions that populate “Da Vinci: The Exhibition” are based on 7,000 pages worth of notes and observations da Vinci left behind when he died 500 years ago in May 1519. In the decades after his death, they were scattered to the winds, but many have since surfaced and are in the hands of archives and museums. Because he did not speak Latin, and underwent no formal scientific training, da Vinci did not interact with other scientists. But he was nevertheless ahead of the curve in his use of empirical methods and for his explorations of human anatomy. He dissected more than 30 human bodies, and among the things da Vinci found is that arteries can clog over time.
“Even 500 years later, he is still being studied,” said Tom Zaller, the president and CEO if Imagine Exhibitions. “He still touches our daily lives. It’s a great opportunity to see this in one setting.”
Each of the inventions highlighted in “Da Vinci: The Exhibition” was handcrafted by trained artisans who translated da Vinci’s writing in order to bring his centuries-old notions to life. Full-size reproductions of da Vinci paintings are also featured, with “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper” joined by “Virgin of the Rocks,” “St. John the Baptist” and others.
The exhibit will be in the Carnegie Science Center’s PPG Science Pavilion through Sept. 2. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with timed tickets for sale at www.CarnegieScienceCenter.org. Visitors can buy tickets for just “Da Vinci: The Exhibition,” or combine them with general admission to the Science Center at a discounted price. For information call 412-237-3400.