The Da Vinci Exhibition

We visited with the class the Vam Design Center, where the most comprehensive travelling exhibition which has ever been put together from Leonardo Da Vinci’s oeuvre is taking place. the visitors can see him as an inventor, an artist, an anatomist, a sculptor, an engineer, a musician, and an architect – says the flyer about the current show - but is it really that magnificent?
We spent one and a half hours in the miraculous world of Leonardo Da Vinci. Or at least we had suggested experiencing something like that prior to visiting the exhibition. I, personally, did not like the structure of the display as it was not impressive and striking enough. The very beginning is exciting and the way Da Vinci’s life is presented can give everybody a brief and clear chronological picture of his most important moments and periods. The following section gives place to the amazing inventions and plans of the genius including the most well-known ones, for example the ancestor of the helicopter. Lots of his elaborately prepared sketches are really built in true to life sizes; and in the next room the visitors are given the possibility of trying out quite many of the constructed machines. The descriptions, however, are not easily readable if you are not the only one standing in front of them, which is a considerable problem if the number of visitors allowed in can reach the two-hundred. The subsequent two sections, the ones I liked the best, are focusing on the most famous painting of the world, the Mona Lisa and the fresco of the Last Supper. To be honest, I had been a bit bored that it is always the Mona Lisa put in the highlight when it comes to Da Vinci - and it is not because I do not like this image. However, it was surprisingly interesting: both on life-size and - good quality - enlarged reproductions the original look of the painting is restored on the basis of a deep photographic analysis; brand-new discoveries and theories are demonstrated in connection with small details, like why cannot we see the eyebrows and eyelashes or the reason why one of the Mona Lisa’s hands looks a bit strange is that Leonardo repainted its posture and did not finish it completely. The only thing I did not like here was the lighting, which was not set properly at some of the photos, so you have to search for the spot from where you see no reflection making invisible a big part of the picture. The methods used during the entire research process can be watched in a video and, another one is played, of course, on the mysterious model’s identity. The other section dealing with the Last Supper has very similar structure, with enlarged pictures, with information e.g. about the depicted apostles and the method of creation, and with a video as well which says almost the same things written on the walls. The following part has exciting pieces, including an exhaustive video on the Vitruvius Man, but unfortunately, I could not enjoy it as much as could have done so if I were not that cold. By that section I had been ‘frozen’ as it was really cold down there and the coats are not allowed to be left on…
My overall impression about the exhibition is not negative, but I think the promotion as well as the high entrance fee suggests something more and this is why some visitors may leave disappointed. I enjoyed it, I learnt from it, but something is still missing – and it is maybe that striking amazement which the concept could evoke in people.