LEONARDO DA VINCI EXHIBITION REVIEW – NATIONAL GALLERY

NO WAY was I going to miss this exhibition. In Hong Kong the school “house” I was in was called Da Vinci and consequently we all knew everything there was to know about the man. What an extraordinary person he was. Such unbelievable talent in so many different fields….

The exhibition is truly spectacular obviously. Arguably the most notable Old Master show this century. Just divine to be able to get up close and personal to such exquisite paintings. The fall of light. The detail. The expressions. The symbolic gestures, his ability to engage with the viewer. What a coup to bring together both versions of “The Virgin of The Rocks” in one room – fascinating to be able to analyse the differences between the two.

BUT in my view there were a few faults. Firstly, whilst I appreciate the impossibility of the Mona Lisa jetting in for the event it would have been good to have a replica of her somewhere on a wall to look at. I also would have liked to have seen more of his inventions – his flying machine, air balloon stuff and definitely more of his analytical drawings – or am I just being greedy now? I don’t think we really got the full sense of him being a famous painter, sculptor, architect, mathematician, anatomist and engineer.

AND ANOTHER THING whilst I’m at it. I bought the audio thingy to be fully informed about all that stuff you can’t quite be arsed to read on the wall and was looking forward to getting the details of when he was born, where, how, why and all that stuff that you know shaped the man. But there was none of it. No gory details at all.

Things they didn’t tell us which I think it would have helped to know:-

That he was born in April 1452
That he was illegitimate and that his parents gave him up and married other people. His father was a notary and his mother a farmer’s daughter.
He was brought up by his paternal Grandfather
He was gay, which must have been a huge big deal then and influenced his work massively. He was twice accused of sodomy.
He consequently was late in beginning his apprentice and by 30 had not done very much work of a genius.

ANYWAY, apart from that try and beg, borrow or steal a ticket to get in.