The Global Art Experience Exhibition of Leonardo Da Vinci in Shanghai Station
Leonardo DaVinci was a well known Italian polymath during the Ranaissance. He was also considered one of the greatest painters in the world, but his areas of interest included many fields, such as drawing, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, and so on. In the past five hundred years, Da Vinci’s achievements are widely appreciated by people around the world. At the beginning of March, an exhibition show of Leonardo Da Vinci was presented in the Shanghai center of Shanghai Pu Dong Area. The exhibition displays the most representative inventions and works accomplished by Da Vinci throughout his whole life.
The first part of the exhibition mostly shows Leonardo’s 16 important oil paintings and murals, including Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, Lady with an Ermine, and Virgin of the Rocks. This section of the exhibition shows Leonardo’s detailed research on human anatomy and his vivid portrayal of human characters by showing their emotions through their gestures. Each of his oil paintings are displayed in chronological order, from the first painting made by Leonardo and his teacher Andrea del Verrocchio to his most classical and well-known work, the Mona Lisa. Beside each painting, a description is attached to the wall, informing the audience about the meaning and background of the painting.
Leonardo not only made these paintings, he spent most of his life on drawing sketches that helped him to develop his own theories and inventions about art and many other fields. The second section of the exhibition displays the representative sketches that cover a total of 13,000 pages of sketches made by Da Vinci throughout his whole life. These sketches are categorized into seven areas: painting, geometry, mechanical design, architectural design, military engineering, natural science and anatomy. Each of these sketches reveals a unique type of development in his beliefs.
After visiting the sketch section, the visitors enter the physical display area in which many mechanical models designed according to Leonardo’s manuscripts are displayed in 1:1 ratio. These models include aircrafts, armored vehicles, stone guns, helicopters, and open-boats. The description beside each model introduces the physical principles behind the inventions.
In the next section of the exhibition, the visitors can experience Leonardo’s mechanical inventions through VR spectacles. Thanks to modern technology, the audience stereoscopically watch Leonardo’s inventing process and how the inventions can be worked in real life. For instance, the visitor can walk into a virtual place and observe the structure of Leonardo’s ships. Moreover, the visitors can also take a ride on his flying machine and observe various landscapes. In the last section of the exhibition, the visitors can watch a five-minute long 5D cartoon movie based on the story between Leonardo and his favorite brush.
In general, the exhibition introduces the audience to Leonardo, the unique spirit that came out of the 16th century by providing various types of experiences. Furthermore, this exhibition provides a valuable experience for people who major or are interested in a wide range of fields. Visit this website for additional information if you are interested: http://sh.bendibao.com/tour/2018112/199269.shtm
Featured Image – Leonardo DaVinci Photo Courtesy of Shanghai Center Website
by Jaclyn Li