LOS ANGELES – Inventor. Artist. Dreamer. That’s how the California Science Center describes the Leonardo da Vinci exhibit hence the name of the exhibit.
The exhibit opened to the public on March 2 and will be there until Sep. 2, 2024, when the exhibit will continue its tour nationally and internationally.
The Leonardo da Vinci: Inventor. Artist. Dreamer exhibit was developed by Leonardo3 Museum of Milan, Italy, in collaboration with Running Subway Productions. Massimiliano Lisa is the co-curator of the Leonardo Da Vinci traveling exhibition. He is also the co-founder, CEO, and president of the Board of Directors of the Leonardo3 Museum.
“Everything you see here was done by our laboratory and by our research center,” said Lisa about the pieces of the exhibit. “So, every piece you see here has a history and this is the collection of what we have done in the last 20 years.”
Da Vinci is known for his famous paintings, Mona Lisa, The Last Supper and Lady With an Ermine. However, da Vinci was more than a painter. This exhibit showcases who da Vinci really was. Besides his work and manuscripts, he also had life lessons you can learn and the motivation you can get from just looking at his work.
“Leonardo wanted to experiment and to offer things nobody has ever done,” said Lisa. “And this is what we try to do with this exhibition in our museum.”
The moment you walk into the exhibit you see the creations of da Vinci, reproductions of his notes and artwork.
In one particular room, you see some of his innovative machines each built by contemporary Italian artisans according to da Vinci’s exacting specifications. Futuristic flying machines are showcased In one of the rooms of the exhibit. The flying bicycle, Great Kite, and a 33-foot flying eagle are showcased in this room.
Dr. Diane Perlov, the senior vice president for special projects at the California Science Center favorite place is where all these innovative flying machines are showcased because you are able to see da Vinci’s evolution over the years.
“I like to see the evolution of his thinking and that you can clearly see in the in the flight section,” said Perlov about her favorite part of the exhibition.
“Leonardo studied flight for decades and in his notebooks you can really see how he learned things, he corrected things and he tried things,” said Perlov. “You see he did experiments, they didn’t work, he did them again and again and again and you see that with the flight his thinking evolved.”
Walking through the exhibit you also see some life lessons quotes like “He who thinks little makes a lot of mistakes.” So not only do you get to see da Vinci’s innovative work but you also get inspiration and life lessons.
“We think it’s a very inspirational exhibition. It doesn’t focus so much on the genius of Leonardo, although you appreciate that clearly in the exhibition,” said Perlov. “But it focuses on something that has life lessons for our daily lives, which is the value of curiosity, of imagination. He experimented across disciplines.”
The exhibit also premiered its latest innovation and Lisa’s favorite part of the exhibit. It is where guests are able to see digitally restored reproductions of some of da Vinci’s iconic artwork and discover details that have been lost in the original masterpiece.
For each of the reproduced artwork, guests can learn more about each artwork and its restoration.
“Is this wall with the paintings of Leonardo because it’s the last one we’ve done,” said Lisa. “All these are using real sketches of Leonardo and all these you can see only here in our museum in Milan.”
“The art section is that he was innovative in how he painted portraits how he painted people,” said Perlov, about the paintings. “Da Vinci painted people that were caught in motion and he also painted emotion in their faces and that was a new thing of the time… his paintings were very influential.”
When it comes to this exhibit the lessons you can learn from da Vinci’s work and his life story.
“I think da Vinci would advise people to observe nature observe their world and also to experiment and fail and experiment again and fail and keep going,” said Perlov about the type of lessons da Vinci would give to someone who visited the exhibit. “He failed a lot but he always evolved and he learned from his things. He was a lifelong learner.”
Lisa also expressed the same type of life lessons someone can take from enjoying this exhibition.
“This is also a message we give with this exhibition, which is that you should not be afraid to continuously fail. Don’t be afraid to fail, to do things that other people do not do because by not following the path that others did before you,” said Lisa. “You can find something of your own, and when you express something of your own, other people usually like it and you can create something that makes the difference.”
My name is Vicky Pineda, I am a multimedia student journalist. I am a student attending California State University Dominguez Hills. I will be graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism in the spring of 2024. I enjoy writing about my community, sports and politics. I love how journalism can tell someone’s unique story. I enjoy reading and spending time with my three cats: Oxcy, Stardust and Ace.