Da Vinci the Genius

"Human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or more direct than does nature because in her inventions nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous."

Leonardo da Vinci

Recently I visited a great exhibition “Da Vinci - the Genius. Before proceeding to description of remarkable works, I would like to note the level and high quality of  preparation of information & the whole approach of presentation material.The authors of this exhibition project didn’t just schematically provide studied data, but in an interactive way passed an interesting to the soul great admiration for genius mind.

The exhibition meets us with overview of the events and a brief history of the Renaissance. Immediately we can see several of Leonardo journals, in which he made notes and sketches of his researches. He investigated such fields as mechanics, hydraulics, architecture, philosophy, anatomy, drawing techniques, and geology. And, of course, it should be noted, he was a decent musician, sculptor and singer, as evidenced by the records of his contemporaries.

Thousands of scribbled pages, preserved to this day it is only third of what Leonardo wrote in his lifetime. A large number of recordings is unfortunately lost. In his notes, Da Vinci used an invented by him technique of mirror writing, which has greatly complicated study of these diaries by historians.

Aerial Screw. Ancestor of today's helicopter. 

There are models and machinery of awesome inventions in the next hall, many of which are life-size, re-created from sketches of Leonardo. 

                              Hang-glider. A replica of this was built in England in 2002, it was unstable, but it flew successfully after a tail was added to Leonardo's design.

Flying machines, devices for measuring wind speed, portable pianola - a musical instrument, next to the projector for theater (Leonardo also was fond of theatrical productions), and an interesting drum to intimidate the enemy in battle.

                                                                                                 Mechanical drum

Further on, to our view comes a large number of anatomical drawings and paintings, which once again plunges into shock and makes very strong impression. For the 15th century Da Vinci was a very progressive and super diverse scholar.

In the same hall there are a good 3D animation of the "Vitruvian Man" shown, as well as a brief explanation of the theory of Da Vinci, that paintings can be a process of mechanical science.

                                                                        Lady with an Ermine       The Virgin of the Rocks

                                                                                              "Vitruvian Man"

Next, we observe a large number of military equipment, despite the fact that Leonardo himself was a pacifist, he lived in times of hostility between France and Italy, and his wealthy patrons were in need of innovative inventions.

                 Three-registered gun-machine. Leonardo wanted to increase the rate that weapons could be fired, so he designed machines with multiple cannons. It perhaps the forerunner of the modern machine gun.   

Cannon. The heavy cannons were mounted on strong wooden platforms. The angle of fire could be regulated by a wheel moved by a worm screw that was in turn moved by a jack. 

A wonderful virtual reproduction of the full size of the "Last Supper". Educational videos with explanations once again strike our imagination - how one person can be thoroughly developed! This painting is yet another confirmation of genius author.

Last Supper

And of course, like any exhibition of Leonardo, this one presents us with a priceless Mona Lisa. The creators of the exhibition, I would say, accurately convey us the mysteries of this delectable work. The original, which is exhibited in the Louvre, unfortunately, has lost many of its details and vividness of the colors.

Mona Lisa or "la Gioconda"

Here we have an excellent opportunity to see the images with 240 pixel resolution from special camera in the range from ultraviolet to infrared. That allows to restore the details and see how “Mona Lisa” looked like in its original form, that was seen by Da Vinci contemporaries.

25 secrets revealed about this painting at this exhibition uncover unknown before details &  help us to better understand and feel the full depth and beauty of this masterpiece.

Crank Operated Cart. This design shows how to transmit motion to the axle of a wagon. A car differential fulfills the same function today. 

Cool exhibition, I had a great time. Its creation took 10 years and I can definitely say, the creators tried hard to show us the most important and interesting. Interactive displays, understandable videos and the opportunity to try a number of mechanisms all this make this show entertaining for both children and adults.