2019-09-01_Lonely_Planet_Traveller

PHOTOGRAPHS:

COURTESY

MUSEO

LEONARDIANO

DI

VINCI,

VATICAN

MUSEUMS

ROME, LAURENT PERBOS, ROYAL

COLLECTION TRUST/ © HER MAJESTY QUEEN

ELIZABETH

II2019, SHUTTERSTOCK

DAVINCI EXHIBITIONS

Renaissance

replayed

LeonardodaVincistillinspiresand

intrigues 500 yearsafterhisdeath

• as thesefouranniversaryevents
  in Italy, France and Britain prove

VINCI

LeonardodaVinci:

Originsof theGenius

MuseoLeonardiano

until 15 October

Mechanicalcontraptions,

geometricmodels

andanatomicalstudiesare

amongthepermanent

highlightsof themuseum

in theartist’snamesakehome

townin Tuscany.In a new

exhibitionthatexamines

daVinci’slinksto theregion,

youcanalsoviewhisfirst

everlandscape,andthe

register(pictured)in which

hisgrandfatherAntonio

recordedhisbirthon 15 April

1452 (museoleonardiano.it).

MILAN

Leonardo’sLastSupper

forFrancisI: a masterpiece

ofsilkandsilver

PalazzoReale

7 October–17November

Francis,Dukeof Valois,who

laterbecameKingof France,

wasa ferventadmirerof

Leonardo’s.UnliketheMona

Lisa(La Giaconda), theLast

Suppercouldn’ttravelwiththe

artistwhenhemovedto his

patron’scountry,so Francishad

themuralreproducedin silk.The

tapestry,whichlaterpassedto

theVaticanMuseums,willbe

temporarilyonshowin Milan

(milan-museum.com/leonardo-

last-supper-cenacolo.php).

LÉMERÉ

Homageto Leonardo

ChâteauduRivau

until3 November

InFrance,whereLeonardo

spentthelastthreeyearsof

hislife,the‘VivaLeonardo

daVinci!’programmebrings

a varietyof eventsand

exhibitionsto thecentral

LoireValley.Amongthem

is a displayhostedat a

magnificentchâteauin the

townof Lémeré,in which 34

contemporaryartistshave

contributeda workeachthat

recallstheTuscangenius.

Themesincludestilllifes,

draperyandfemalefigures

(vivadavinci2019.fr).

LONDON

LeonardodaVinci:

ALifein Drawing

TheQueen’sGallery

BuckinghamPalace

until 13 October

Britainis gettinginvolvedtoo,

witha specialshowingof more

than 200 of Leonardo’s

drawingsheldin theRoyal

Collection– thelargestsuch

exhibitionin over 65 years.

Together,theygiveanideaof

theartist’sfar-rangingpassions,

whetherin sculpture,botany,

architectureor anatomy.Thisis

anunmissableopportunityto

lookcloselyat preparatory

studiessuchas Leda’sheador

‘grotesque’ animals (rct.uk).

Amongtheprojects

thatLeonardonever

gotto completewas

aneight-metre-tall

bronzehorseforthe

Duke of Milan. It

wouldhavebeen

theworld’sbiggest

equestrianstatue,

butproducingthe

100 tonnesof bronze

needed to make it

provedanobstacle.

Preparatorysketches

werekept,however,

and,startingin 1999,

artistNinaAkamu

brought the drawings

to lifein threestatues:

at Milan’sSanSiro

racetrack;in a

Michigansculpture

park;andin thetown

of Vinci itself.

FINISHED

WORK