Leonardo da Vinci. A Universal Man
6th July — 22th August, 2021
The exhibition is dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci’s breakthroughs and art. He is the artist who, better than anyone else, synthesized in his production technological research and artistic expression, elevating the former to the status of a universal aesthetic value.
On the occasion of Italy’s participation in INNOPROM-2021 in the role of Partner Country, Yeltsin Center’s art gallery presents an exhibition. It is organized under the patronage of the Embassy of Italy in Moscow, with the participation of the Royal Museums of Turin and under the support of MondoMostre.
The exhibition shows two artworks from the collection of Royal Library of Turin: Leonardo da Vinci’s Head of a Woman (circa 1510) and Codex on the Flight of Birds, an edition of the famous artwork collected in 1893 by Russian philanthropist Fyodor Sabashnikov and Giovanni Piumati. The exhibition includes reconstructions of two mechanisms designed by Leonardo — Flap-winged Aircraft (1952–1953) and Wing Structure (1953) from the National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan. Site-specific video animation When visions come alive. Leonardo’s Codex on the Flight of Birds was created by the Italian new media artist Franz Fischnaller. Moreover, the art gallery presentes reproductions of Da Vinci’s works from the collections of the Royal Museums of Turin.
As early as the Middle Ages, Leonardo Da Vinci was a pioneer of modern science. The methodology of his research, based on field experiments, observing the natural world, identification of cause-effect relationships, as well open-mindedness and erudition — enabling phenomena in the world around us to be analysed in all their complexity — lies at the heart of modern scientific knowledge.
The exhibition, featuring drawings from the Royal Library of Turin’s collection, succeeds in conveying the vast scope of the artist’s interests. The featured works demonstrate the artist’s passion for structural design and invention. Da Vinci invariably preserves a close tie with past traditions, while at the same time deeply reflecting on Man, who he pictured as “the beating heart” of the universe, wherein the laws of mechanics and the laws of beauty are inextricably linked.
The concept of the exhibition creates an ideological dialogue with the topics of the 11th International Industrial Exhibition INNOPROM and emphasizes the universal importance of Da Vinci’s work. Especially in the context of advanced industrial technologies that INNOPROM presents.
The scientific project from the Royal Museums of Turin focuses on several aspects of Leonardo da Vinci’s work:
A HUMAN MASTERMIND
This section tells about Leonardo da Vinci’s legend, his life and the events that make him a world-famous genius. At the same time it focuses on the relevance of his research. At the center of Da Vinci’s craft was the idea of the constant evolution of the earth’s structures, as a finitely complex network of interconnected elements, on which its equilibrium is founded.
PORTRAYING THE WHOLE WORLD
The section is dedicated to Da Vinci’s research that spans a broad spectrum of natural phenomena across diverse scientific disciplines — from anatomy, technology and hydraulics, to botany, zoology and optics, as well as physiognomy and geology.
DREAMS OF FLIGHT
The central place in the exposition is the study of flight, something to which Leonardo dedicated his entire life. The exhibition shows Codex on the Flight of Birds, a copy of the edition from 1893, prepared by Fyodor Sabashnikov.
At the end of the 19th century Russian patron and worker of culture Fyodor Vasilyevich Sabashnikov (1869, Moscow — 1927, Turin), along with an artist from Piedmont — Giovanni Piumati — tracked down and purchased the separated pages of the Da Vinci’s manuscript.
At his own expense, Sabashnikov published an annotated edition of the manuscript for wide distribution. The exhibition shows a signed copy from the publisher that Sabashnikov gave to King of Italy Umberto I and Queen Margarita Savoiska. The authors wrote their dedication from left to right, imitating the style of Leonardo da Vinci.
Codex on the Flight of Birds is one of the most important manuscripts of Leonardo da Vinci. It returned to Italy because of Sabashnikov’s contribution, his passion for studying Leonardo’s legacy and endeavor to spread knowledge.
The same section presents two reconstructions of mechanisms from the National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan, designed based on Leonardo da Vinci’s works.
The first one is Flap-winged Aircraft. It is an aircraft equipped with flap wings, driven by a muscle-work mechanism The second one is Wing Structure. It is depicted on the back of sheet 858 of the Atlantic Code. In this one, the wing no longer consists of separate interconnected sections but is rather a tension structure comprising a main axis, from which the reed-made reinforcement spokes protrude.
Here the audience can see a site-specific video animation called When visions come alive. Leonardo’s Codex on the Flight of Birds. The Italian new media artist Franz Fischnaller created it specifically for the exhibition at the Yeltsin Center. The large-format projection helps viewers understand the notes and drawings about the theory of flight stored on the pages of Da Vinci’s Codex.
BETWEEN VISION AND REALITY: IMAGES OF LEONARDO
Da Vinci devoted a lot of attention to portrayal of the face. The latter exposé amalgamates the key themes and poetics at the center of the artist’s work — from his studies on proportions and anatomy, to the idea of the body as a temple for the living spirit, along with the significance of sight as an instrument in the pursuit of knowledge, and a window onto the human soul.
The drawing Head of a Woman is the centrepiece of this section. Depicted is the head of a young woman, turned three quarters to the right, and tilted slightly downwards. Smooth locks of loose-flowing hair frame her face. The angle of her head and slight tilt from the torso illustrate a clear link with Madonna of the Yardwinder and with a series of drawings by Da Vinci on the same theme which today are divided between the collections of Windsor Castle (Great Britain) and Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice.
6th July — 22th August, 2021
Art Gallery Yeltsin Center
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