Exhibition Review: Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing, TheQueen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace

luxurylifestylemag.co.uk/the-best-of-the-rest/exhibition-review-leonardo-da-vinci-a-life-in-drawing-the-queens-gallery-buckingham-palace/

By LLM Reporters on 28th May 2019Words by Irene Caswell

A new exhibition at The Queen’s Gallery, Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing, marks 500 yearssince the Renaissance Master’s death. Featuring more than 200 original works from The RoyalCollection, this is the largest exhibition of Leonardo’s work in over 65 years and follows 12simultaneous exhibitions earlier this year at museums and galleries across the UK, whichattracted more than one million visitors.

This is an exhibition you will want to return to, as it’s nearly impossible to take in all themagnificence of these works in one visit. Revered in his day as a painter, Leonardo completedaround 20 paintings. A respected sculptor and architect, no sculptures or buildings by himsurvive. Many planned projects, including a treatise on anatomy, involving the dissection of 30human corpses, and a plot with Machiavelli to divert the river Arno, remained unrealised.

Many of his achievements, therefore, survive only in his numerous drawings andmanuscripts. Few of the drawings were intended for public gaze but instead served as alaboratory, notebook and creative exploration as he worked out his ideas on paper, often inminute detail. The drawings offer an insight into the mind of a brilliant creative intellect. It ispoignant that the wide breadth of his accomplishments was unknown to his contemporaries,or indeed those who followed immediately after his death on 2nd May 1519.

1/14

Leonardo da Vinci is famed for his detailed anatomical studies

The exhibition is curated both chronologically and thematically. Anatomical studies includeThe fetus in the womb (c. 1511), a poignant portrayal. In an age when we take digital imageryfor granted, and nobody thinks twice about sharing a rather blurry scan of a baby in uterus on

2/14

The exhibition features 200 drawings that explore the artist’s full range of interests

social media, Leonardo’s painstaking, detailed study is exquisite. You can almost hear thefetus softly breathing and feel his heartbeat. A photograph of the drawing does not comeanywhere near the experience of the original drawing, and its meticulous strokes of the pen.

Leonardo’s accompanying text is handwritten in tiny, complex and extremely neat columnsthroughout his work, and in itself provides an insight into the man. Leonardo was left-handedand wrote backwards to avoid smudging the ink. The effort and commitment is incredibleand must have been painstaking work with a quill and ink. As an aside, I was reminded of thefairy tale illustrations of artist Arthur Rackham which display a similar, deliciously sensual,intensity of penmanship.

3/14

Scientific studies have recently been made of Leonardo’s drawings and reveal underlying

Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing explores the artist’s full range of interests includingpainting, sculpture, architecture, anatomy, engineering, cartography, geology and botany.

At The Queen’s Gallery, the natural world is explored through detailed landscapes, studies ofwater and botanical subjects. There are preparatory studies for well known paintingsincluding The Madonna and Child with St Anne and a lamb (c. 1508-19) and the only sixsurviving preparatory drawings for the celebrated Last Supper (1495 – 8), one of which is thesole compositional study that exists for the painting, which has now deterioratedconsiderably.

The exhibition also includes a number of works by contemporaries including the only twodrawings of the Master himself, made during his lifetime. One by his pupil Francesco Melzi, isthe well-known A portrait of Leonardo c.1515-18.

Remarkably, the 200 drawings in the exhibition are part of a group of over 550 sheets fromLeonardo’s own collection bound into one album around 1590. They have remained togetherfor the past 500 years and entered The Royal Collection during the reign of Charles II.Because of the potential damage from exposure to light, these very delicate works can neverbe shown on permanent display.

On my way from Pisa to Florence a few years ago, I visited the Museo Leonardiano Vinci in thetown of Vinci. It is a relatively small museum with many artefacts and papers. The breadthand complexity of Leonardo’s mind, and the magnitude of skill, has remained with me to thisday. This exhibition will have a similar resonance.

Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing is curated by Martin Clayton, Head of Prints and Drawings, TheRoyal Collection. The exhibition runs until 13 October 2019 at The Queen’s Gallery, BuckinghamPalace. In November, a selection of 80 works will travel to The Queen’s Gallery, Holyroodhouse,Edinburgh to form the largest exhibition of Leonardo’s works ever show in Scotland (22 Novemberto 15 March 2020).

For further details please visit rct.uk

You Might Also Like

4/14

5/14

Sketches include preparatory studies for The Last Supper

Father’s Day: The Ultimate Gift Guide for 2019

Monaco International Luxury Property Expo 2019

6/14

Invest and get your money’s worth: Global real estate marketoverview

Dream destinations to consider when moving abroad

7/14

The Ultimate Guide to the Grand National

Oxford v Cambridge: A history of the iconic boat race

Ideas for a memorable birthday celebration

8/14

Valentine’s Day gift ideas: Your ultimate guide for 2019

Bingo is for the rich and famous

9/14

A beginner’s guide to horse racing: Betting odds explained

How to live the life of luxury as a university student

Global online VIP marketplace dubbed ‘Amazon for millionaires’launches, with jets, yachts, supercars and even private islands

10/14

Why travel happy couples love cohabitation

Luxury gift ideas for horse owners and equestrians

11/14

What to spend a mega jackpot win on

Sport of Kings: How to purchase a racehorse at Europe’s mostprestigious bloodstock sales

Small but inventive luxury holiday gifts for your loved ones

12/14

Ibiza’s hottest night spot to take temporary residency in TheLondon Cabaret Club

Most decadent horse racing events across the globe

13/14

The easiest ways to invest in Ethereum

14/14